Space-Perception and the Philosophy of Science

Drawing on the phenomenological tradition in the philosophy of science and philosophy of nature, Patrick Heelan concludes that perception is a cognitive, world-building act, and is therefore never absolute or finished.

Patrick A. Heelan is Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook

Preface

xi

(2)

Acknowledgments

xiii

1 Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, and Philosophy of Science

1

(26)

Introduction

1

(2)

Philosophies of Perception

3

(2)

Phenomenology

5

(3)

Perception, Horizon, World, Intentionality

8

(4)

Being-in-the-World: Body

12

(1)

Science and the Perceptual World

13

(6)

Models, Metaphors, and the "Things Themselves"

19

(8)

PART I: HYPERBOLIC VISUAL SPACE

27

(104)

2 Introduction to Visual Space

27

(13)

Introduction

27

(1)

Appearances in Hyperbolic Visual Space

28

(7)

Quasi-Stable Euclidean/Non-Euclidean Phenomena

35

(1)

The Gateway Arch

36

(4)

3 Visual Space: Search for a Model

40

(17)

Kant: Space as A Priori for Experience

40

(2)

Pictorial Spaces

42

(1)

How to Represent Pictorial Spaces

43

(1)

Arnheim's "Pyramidal Space"

44

(1)

Pure Geometries

45

(1)

Non-Euclidean Visual Space

46

(1)

Luneburg's Theory of Hyperbolic Visual Space

46

(1)

Free Mobility of Forms

47

(2)

Failure of Luneburg's Model

49

(3)

Hermeneutical Visual Model

52

(2)

Stability of Visual Metric

54

(3)

4 Hyperbolic Space: The Model

57

(21)

Model of Hyperbolic Visual Space

57

(1)

The True Point and the "Newtonian Oasis"

58

(1)

Finite and Infinite Visual Spaces

58

(1)

Horizon Sphere

59

(1)

"Pyramidal Structure" of Finite Visual Space

60

(1)

Determination of Parameters of Model: Sigma

60

(2)

Near Zone and Distant Zone: Gamma

62

(1)

Near Zone

63

(1)

Distant Zone

64

(3)

Horizontal Planes

67

(2)

Frontal Planes

69

(3)

"Spheroidal World of Sight"

72

(1)

Quasi-Stable Euclidean/Hyperbolic Phenomena

73

(2)

Near Zone and Distant Zone in the Everyday World

75

(3)

5 Evidence from Perceptual Illusions

78

(20)

Informal Evidence

78

(1)

Perceptual Illusions

78

(3)

Two-Dimensional Illusions

81

(9)

Illusions of Rotation and Optical Images

90

(2)

Three-Dimensional Illusions

92

(1)

The Moon Illusion

93

(2)

The Radiant Sun

95

(1)

Other Confirmatory Evidence

96

(2)

6 Evidence from the History of Art

98

(30)

Pictures and Pictured Objects

98

(2)

Artificial Perspective

100

(2)

Perspective as "Symbolic Form"

102

(1)

"Fishbone" Perspective and Curved Space

103

(1)

From Image-Structure to Space-Structure: Debate

104

(2)

Influence of Picture Surface

106

(1)

Ambiguity of Pictorial Space

107

(1)

Curvilinear Synthetic Perspective

108

(4)

As Depicting Motion or Curved Space?

112

(2)

The Pictorial Space of Vincent van Gogh

114

(14)

Part I, Conclusions

128

(3)

PART II: TOWARD A PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE BASED ON THE PRIMACY OF PERCEPTION

131

(150)

7 Nature of Perception

131

(16)

Perception and Percept

131

(3)

Phenomenology of the Perceptual Object

134

(2)

Physical Causality and Perception

136

(2)

Imagination, Memory, Hallucination, Illusion

138

(1)

Perception and Past Experience

139

(1)

Horizons of Geometrical Perception

140

(1)

Realism of Everday Life

140

(1)

Perceptual Judgments and Descriptive Criteria

141

(4)

Anomalous Hyperbolic Perception

145

(1)

Natural vs. Conventionalist Geometry

146

(1)

8 Causal Physiological Model of Perception

147

(8)

Physical and Physiological Basis of Perception

147

(1)

Physiological Moment

148

(1)

Psychic Moment

149

(1)

Somatic Information Channel

149

(2)

Ambiguity of Stimulus-Object Relation

151

(2)

Inescapable Reference to Life World

153

(2)

9 Perception as Mirroring: Realism

155

(18)

Perception as Mirroring of Nature

155

(1)

Pictorial Reality

156

(1)

Euclidean Structure and Prepredicative Intentionality

157

(1)

Possibility of Non-Euclidean Perception

158

(2)

Poincare-Reichenbach Conventionalism

160

(4)

Percepts and Perceptual Judgments

164

(1)

Veridical Perceptual Objects

165

(1)

Hallucinatory Perceptual Objects

166

(1)

Illusory Perceptual Objects

166

(1)

Anomalous Objects: Distorted or Transformed?

167

(1)

Scientific Observer as Universal Observer

168

(2)

Visual Observer as Privileged Observer

170

(3)

10 Horizonal Realism

173

(19)

Scientific Realism

173

(2)

Horizonal Realism

175

(3)

Context

178

(1)

Context-Dependency and Quantum Logic

179

(5)

Objectivity

184

(3)

Reduction of Manifest to Scientific Image: Problem

187

(2)

Manifest Objects as Real

189

(3)

11 Perception of Scientific Entities

192

(22)

Scientific Entities

192

(1)

Scientific Observation as `Reading' of `Text'

193

(1)

Hermeneutics

194

(3)

Observer as Embodied

197

(4)

Opacity of Scientific `Texts'

201

(1)

Observation as Theory-Laden

202

(2)

The Ontological Intent of Science

204

(2)

Scientific Instrument as "Readable Technology"

206

(1)

Observers and Quantum Mechanics

207

(3)

The Ontological Achievement of Science

210

(1)

Human Embodiment in Readable Technologies

211

(1)

Furniture of the Earth and Universe

212

(2)

12 Identity Theories and Psychobiology

214

(6)

Monistic Realism and Identity Theories

214

(1)

Psychobiology

214

(1)

Metaresearch Principles of Psychobiology

215

(5)

13 Hermeneutics and the History of Science

220

(27)

Hermeneutical Circle

220

(2)

Natural Science as Nonhermeneutical

222

(2)

Role of Hermeneutics in Natural Science

224

(1)

Hermeneutics and the History of Science

225

(1)

The History of Science and Progress in Knowledge

226

(4)

Hermeneutical Model of Rational Progress: Linear Part

230

(6)

Hermeneutical Model of Rational Progress: Dialectical Part

236

(6)

Modes of Rationality Compared

242

(1)

Models and Their Descriptive Use

243

(3)

Science in Cultural Perspective

246

(1)

14 Euclidean Space as a Scientific Artifact

247

(7)

The Everyday World as Artifact of the Scientific Imagination

247

(2)

Euclidean Visual Space as a Scientific Artifact

249

(5)

15 World Possibilities

254

(10)

Hyperbolic Worlds

254

(9)

General Conditions of Possibility of Worlds

263

(1)

16 Retrospective

264

(17)

Hermeneutical Character of the Study

264

(2)

General Philosophical Theory

266

(4)

Specific Applications and Conclusions

270

(1)

Visual Spaces

271

(1)

Manifest and Scientific Images

272

(4)

Identity Theories

276

(1)

Hermeneutics and the History of Science and Perception

276

(1)

World-Building

277

(4)

Appendix: Hyperbolic Visual Map of Physical Space

281

(40)

Introduction

281

(1)

Hermeneutical Luneburg Model: Configuration-Dependent Hyperbolic Space

282

(2)

Physical Space

284

(3)

Visual Space

287

(3)

Radial Distance in Visual Space

290

(1)

Size-Depth Match

291

(1)

Contraction and Dilation of Space

291

(4)

Orientation of Sides of Reference Tripod Relative to Visual Horizontal and Vertical

295

(4)

Discussion

299

(1)

Tilting of Planes in Visual Space

300

(1)

Discussion

301

(1)

Perspectival Projections in Visual Space

301

(2)

Depth-Distance Ratios in Visual Space

303

(2)

Illustration of Visual Shapes

305

(3)

Illustration: Determination of Sigma, Gamma, and k

308

(1)

Tables

309

(12)

Notes

321

(32)

References

353

(18)

Index Index

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Space-Perception and the Philosophy of Science

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials