Perceptual EphemeraThomas Crowther, Clare Mac Cumhaill Most research on perception has focussed on the perceptual experience of three-dimensional, solid, bounded, and coherent material objects - items like tables and tomatoes. But as well as having perceptual experience of such objects, we also experience such aspects of the world as, for instance, rainbows and surfaces, shadows and absences: things that are ephemeral by contrast with material objects. This book presents fifteen new essays on the perceptual experience of such ephemera. The editors' introduction provides a detailed guide to the topic as a whole, setting out the thematic background to this emerging area of research in contemporary philosophy of perception. The volume winds a path through the ephemeral, considering such topics as sounds, smells, transparency, reflection, camouflage, solidity, and ambient vision. A general aim of the volume is to make a case that the broad range of ephemera it catalogues are far from marginal, or insubstantial with respect to their philosophical interest and value. Philosophical attention to perceptul ephemera may well suggest novel routes to arriving at a more developed understanding of perceptual experience at large and its characteristic features. |
Contents
A Tour of the Ephemeral | 1 |
Sound and Illusion | 31 |
The Unitary Nature of Sounds | 50 |
Representation and Ephemerality in Olfaction | 68 |
Odours as Olfactibilia | 93 |
Spectacular Absences A Companion Guide | 116 |
Disappearances | 130 |
Shadows Objects and the Lexicon On Some Lexicalized and NonLexicalized Concepts of Shadow and Light | 154 |
No More than Meets the Eye Shadows as Pure Visibilia | 172 |
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Common terms and phrases
abstract particulars acoustic features acoustic properties argue Aristotle auditory perception auditory system awareness back surface bearers of acoustic blocking boundary Casati causal claim collision colour conception contrast discussion distinct edge entities ephemeral evanescence example experiences of absence experiences of disappearances fact figure-ground glass hear hole holograms idea illumination illusory contour instantiated involve Kalderon kind of thing light looking solid looks invisible loudspeakers medium mirrors nature notion Nudds object offsets observational odours olfaction olfactory experience olfactory system ontological ordinary environmental event Oxford University Press particular perceived perceptual constancies perceptual ephemera perceptual experience perceptual media phenomenology Philosophical philosophy of perception present qualities question rainbows reflections region relevant representation role Scruton seen sense sensibilia sensory shadow silhouette smell Sorensen Soteriou sounds space spatial spin structure stuff substantial material objects suggests theory Varzi visibilia visible properties vision visual experience visual perception visual system visually appearing wine