Perceptual Media, Glass and Mirrors

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian Mizrahi
Keyword(s):  
Visual Media ◽  
Perceptual System ◽  
Perceptual Process ◽  
Sense Organs ◽  
General Account

In this chapter, I argue that perceptual media like air or water are imperceptible. I show that, despite their lack of phenomenological features, perceptual media crucially affect what we see by selecting what is perceptually available to the perceiver. In the second part of the chapter, I argue that mirrors are visual media like air, water, and glass. According to this account, mirrors are transparent and invisible and cannot therefore have a distinctive look or appearance. In the last part of the chapter, I extend the general account of perceptual media to the sense organs themselves by showing that perceptual media not only include external entities causally involved in the perceptual process but also comprise the perceptual system itself.

Caretaker or liberator?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allyn Fives
Keyword(s):  
Clear Distinction ◽  
Moral Conflicts ◽  
General Account ◽  
Role Of Parents ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Do So

Are parents caretakers or liberators? Is the role of parents to act in a paternalistic fashion so as to take care of their children or is it instead to set their children free? In this chapter, I argue that those who defend the caretaker thesis do so on the basis of assumptions characteristic of the liberal view on paternalism. It is assumed that paternalism entails interfering with another’s liberty, that it does not involve moral conflicts, and that it is justified treatment of those who lack the qualities of an agent. In addition, no clear distinction is made between children who lack the qualities of an agent and children who are merely incompetent. What is more, the same assumptions underlie the liberation thesis. Indeed, both the caretaker thesis and the liberation thesis are questionable because they operate with a definition of paternalism that is highly problematic. I also want to make one further argument here. Namely, even an adequate conceptualisation of paternalism is insufficient as a general account of parental power, as there are non-paternalistic forms of parental power as well.

Chapter I. the Home Economy

1982 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 6-26
Keyword(s):  
Econometric Model ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Short Term Forecast ◽  
Financial Position ◽  
General Account ◽  
Term Forecast ◽  
Recent Developments

This chapter contains a brief general account of recent developments in the economy and a short-term forecast to end-1984. (A medium-term assessment is given in chapter 3.) Since our last forecast, published in the May issue, we have re-estimated, and in some cases also re-specified, many sectors of our econometric model. This has inevitably changed some of its properties.Two short notes are appended. The first discusses the company sector's current financial position and the implications of the forecast for profitability. The second describes the data on wage settlements which we compile as part of our regular assessment of trends in wages and earnings.

Disambiguating the Perceptual Assumption

2018 ◽  
pp. 66-72
Author(s):  
Jennifer Corns
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Perceptual Processing ◽  
Sensory Substitution ◽  
Perceptual Process ◽  
Appropriate Use ◽  
Full Stop

Deroy and Auvray together with Ptito et al. have argued against what they dub ‘the perceptual assumption’, which they claim underlies all previous research into sensory substitution devices (SSDs). In this chapter, I argue that the perceptual assumption needs to be disambiguated in three distinct ways: (A) SSD use is best modelled as a known, ‘natural’ modality; (B) SSD use is best modelled as a unique sensory modality full stop; and (C) SSD use is best modelled as a perceptual process. Different theorists are variously committed to these distinct claims. More importantly, evaluating A, B, or C for rejection depends on distinct evidence of difference between SSD use and (A) each natural modality, (B) any modality, and (C) perceptual processing. I argue that even if the offered evidence of difference for A–C is granted, Auvray and Deroy’s advocated rejections are not entailed; it remains to be shown that the identified differences undermine the appropriate use of the corresponding models.

scholarly journals Sensory Substitution and Perceptual Learning

2018 ◽  
pp. 236-250
Author(s):  
Kevin Connolly
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
Perceptual Experience ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Perceptual System ◽  
Sensory Substitution ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Philosophical Question ◽  
Philosophical Debate ◽  
Sense Modality

When a user integrates a sensory substitution device into her life, the process involves perceptual learning, that is, ‘relatively long-lasting changes to an organism’s perceptual system that improve its ability to respond to its environment’. In this chapter, I explore ways in which the extensive literature on perceptual learning can be applied to help improve sensory substitution devices. I then use these findings to answer a philosophical question. Much of the philosophical debate surrounding sensory substitution devices concerns what happens after perceptual learning occurs. In particular, should the resultant perceptual experience be classified in the substituted modality (as vision), in the substituting modality (as auditory or tactile), or in a new sense modality? I propose a novel empirical test to help resolve this philosophical debate.

The Perceptual Organization of Streams of Sound

2019 ◽  
pp. 46-60
Author(s):  
Diana Deutsch
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Perceptual Organization ◽  
Sound Quality ◽  
Perceptual System ◽  
Sense Organs ◽  
Good Continuation ◽  
Tonal Music ◽  
Film Scores ◽  
Common Fate ◽  
20Th Century Music

Chapter 3 first explores the principles by which we organize elements of an array into groupings. The Gestalt psychologists proposed a set of grouping principles that have profoundly influenced the study of hearing and vision ever since—these include “proximity,” “similarity,” “good continuation,” “common fate,” and “closure.” Passages of conventional tonal music illustrating these principles are described, along with several illusions and other surprising characteristics of music and speech, all presented as sound examples. They involve the segregation of pitch sequences into separate streams based on proximity in pitch or in time, and also on timbre or sound quality. Figure–ground relationships, analogous to those in vision, are also discussed. Much information arrives at our sense organs in fragmented form, and the perceptual system needs to infer continuities between the fragments, and fill in the gaps appropriately. It is shown that this occurs in both music and speech. We have evolved mechanisms to perform these tasks, but these mechanisms often fool us into “hearing” sounds that are not really there. Another approach to perceptual organization in music exploits the use of orchestral sound textures to create ambiguous images. This approach has been used to excellent effect in 20th-century music such as film scores; for example, it contributes to the mysterious ambience in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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