Description
Book SynopsisThe philosophy of perception investigates the nature of our sensory experiences and their relation to reality. In the second edition of this popular book, William Fish introduces the subject thematically, setting out the major theories of perception together with their motivations and attendant problems. While providing historical background to debates in the field, this comprehensive overview focuses on recent presentations and defenses of the different theories, and looks beyond visual perception to take into account the role of other senses.
The second edition organizes the contents into two main parts: the first deals with philosophical theories of perception, and the second covers key topics and issues in perception as they are discussed in philosophy, cognitive science, and psychology. Two completely new chapters have been added one on color and color vision; and a second on the interaction between sense modalities and other chapters have been significantly updated to
Trade Review
"I have been using the first edition of William Fish’s Philosophy of Perception very successfully in my philosophy of perception courses. The second edition has all the virtues of the first: presenting a balanced account of the principal theories in the field, uncovering potentially problematic assumptions, and raising issues for further discussion – all written in an admirably clear and engaging style. The new edition contains discussions of recent work at the intersection of the philosophy and the science of perception, including chapters on color and color vision, interaction between sense modalities, and cross-modal illusions. Highly recommended."
Frances Egan, Rutgers University
Table of Contents1. Introduction Part I: Philosophical Theories of Visual Perception 2. Sense Datum Theories 3. The Representational Principle and Intentional Theories 4. Adverbialism and Qualia Theories 5. Naïve Realism Part II: The Philosophy of Perception and the Sciences of the Mind 6. The Philosophy of Perception and Vision Science 7. Color, Color Vision, and Color Science 8. Perception and the Nonvisual Sense Modalities 9. Multimodality
