Perception and Illusion: Historical Perspectives

ISBN-13: 9780387227221 / Angielski / Twarda / 2004 / 250 str.

Nicholas Wade; N. J. Wade

Opis

Our contact with the world is through perception, and therefore the study of the process is of obvious importance and signi?cance. For much of its long history, the study of perception has been con?ned to natural- tic observation. Nonetheless, the phenomena considered worthy of note have not been those that nurture our survival the veridical features of perception but the oddities or departures from the common and c- monplace accuracies of perception. With the move from the natural world to the laboratory the oddities of perception multiplied, and they received ever more detailed scrutiny. My general intention is to examine the interpretations of the perc- tual process and its errors throughout history. The emphasis on errors of perception might appear to be a narrow approach, but in fact it enc- passes virtually all perceptual research from the ancients until the present. The constancies of perception have been taken for granted whereas - partures from constancies (errors or illusions) have fostered fascination."

Recenzje

From the reviews:

"Wade has published numerous books and articles on perception, many of which deal with the history of research in this area. The present volume continues this trend ... . Wade carries the historical account up to the present and concerns himself almost exclusively with vision, emphasizing the associations among art, illusion, and the scientific study of perception. ... Highly recommended." (R. H. Cormack, Choice, Vol. 42 (10), 2005)

"Nicholas Wade is an active empirical visual scientist who has also become a leading historian for our subject. ... He has now presented an overall view of the history of perception, with an emphasis on visual perception. ... The book is clearly written in an engaging style and provides the only broad but concise review of the history of the main topics in perception." (Prof. Ian P. Howard, Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 41 (4), 2005)

"Nicholas Wade of Dundee University is characteristic of the breed of scientist-historian: he is respected for his own experimental work on visual perception, but he has also established himself as one of the foremost historians of visual science. ... Perception and Illusion begins in the time of Euclid and Aristotle ... . He ends with the late 20th-century view of the human observer as an information-processing system ... . Despite this vast territory, Wade has a firm and accurate grasp of his material." (John Mollon, The Times Higher Educational Supplement, October, 2005)

Spis treści

Chapter 1 Recording observations The practice of perception Art Color Optics Greek science and perception The ideal and the observable The five senses The introduction of observation The introduction of optics The introduction of experiment Summary Chapter 2 Nature of perceptual error Comparisons of percepts Comparisons with physics Comparisons with physiology Distal and proximal comparisons Phantoms Summary Chapter 3 Nature of veridicality Nature of light Greek optics Medieval optics Early modern optics Nature of sight Eye Retina Visual pathways Eye glasses Summary Chapter 4 Perception in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Impact of optics Eye as an optical instrument Impact of anatomy Visual pathways Impact of physiology Accommodation &

O autorze

Nicholas Wade hat sich nach dem Studium der Naturwissenschaften und der Medizin als Wissenschaftsjournalist der 'New York Times' einen Namen gemacht. Sein Buch erscheint zu gleicher Zeit in den USA und in Deutschland.

Blurb

The understanding of perception is central to our knowledge of the mind. Yet paradoxically, this understanding was born of centuries of fascination with errors of human perception. Perception and Illusion: Historical Perspectives elegantly retraces this scientific journey, not only in terms of its trials and errors but in its complex relationships with painting and medicine, philosophy and physics.

In this accessible volume, Nicholas Wade surveys over two millennia of scientific inquiry and research, describing the evolution of theories of light, sight, and illusion from early naturalistic observation to our sophisticated present-day experiments. Optics, physiology, and ophthalmology are seen emerging from beneath the burden of tradition and dogma. So, too, do doctors and thinkers studying the senses become practitioners devoted to specialized domains.

    • The Greek foundations of perception: Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Ptolemy
    • Art and perception before and after the Renaissance: color mixing and linear 
    perspective
    • The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: ocular anatomy meets optical science; the 
    separation of sight from light
    • Perception and behavior: illusions and the roots of psychology in the nineteenth
    century; the fragmentation of the senses; harnessing space and time
    • Perceptual innovations in the twentieth century: from infant vision through visual
    physiology to virtual reality.

Perception and Illusion: Historical Perspectives is illuminating reading for students of the history of psychology, optics, and medicine, and provides insights into the history and progress of science. In addition to charting these visual milestones, Wade reminds the reader in an articulate manner of perceptual controversies—including some of the most basic ones—that have yet to be resolved.