Perception
I finally finished the paper on perception for the class from last fall. I investigate the "ordinary concept of perception"---what it is that we ordinarily mean when we say someone perceives (e.g., see, hears, touches, smells, etc.) something. A standard way of investigating our ordinary concepts is to imagine various scenarios involving the concept and extracting how we, intuitively, think about the scenarios. Here are the key "thought experiments" which I use to make my arguments:
The room, however, is a "holodeck," a Star Trek inspired virtual environment in which "holographic" items may be materialized. Somebody happens to hook up Sue's computer so the holodeck acquires a description of Joe's hallucination. The holodeck proceeds to materialize, at the apparent location, a "clock on shelf" which matches Joe's hallucination. Sue is next to Joe in the holodeck; she can see this "clock on shelf" with her own eyes. Does Joe see the clock that Sue sees?
Here are what I take to be our ordinary intuitive reactions to these cases. In 1. The neurosurgeon, the special glasses enable Joe to see. In 2. The kaleidoscope, the scrambling of the video signal is so severe that Joe no longer sees. In 3. The holodeck, Joe does not see the same clock that Sue sees. In 4. The holodeck, part II, Joe sees Sue. His visual experience is being created in the same manner as Joe's visual experience in case 1.
1. The neurosurgeon
Joe is blind, due to a recent eye injury. Sue is a neurosurgeon who can give patients visual experiences by directly stimulating their brain. Sue mounts video cameras on Joe and links them to a probe which stimulates Joe's brain. Joe turns toward, say, a clock on the shelf. The video cameras, which pick up the clock, send images to the probe, giving Joe a matching visual experience. Does Joe see the clock on the shelf?2. The kaleidoscope
A bug scrambles the visual experience which Joe receives. Instead of a visual experience of a clock, Joe gets the sort of colorful image you see when you look into a kaleidoscope. Since this pattern is derived from the video signal, it changes as Joe turns toward different objects. The changes, however, look to Joe as if a kaleidoscope is being rotated. Does Joe see the clock on the shelf?3. The holodeck
Sue takes Joe into an empty room and jacks his brain (wirelessly) into her computer. This computer feeds Joe a fully interactive, digitally-generated visual experience. The hallucination is completely convincing to Joe: he doesn't know it's made without the help of video cameras. The hallucination is of a clock on a shelf.The room, however, is a "holodeck," a Star Trek inspired virtual environment in which "holographic" items may be materialized. Somebody happens to hook up Sue's computer so the holodeck acquires a description of Joe's hallucination. The holodeck proceeds to materialize, at the apparent location, a "clock on shelf" which matches Joe's hallucination. Sue is next to Joe in the holodeck; she can see this "clock on shelf" with her own eyes. Does Joe see the clock that Sue sees?
4. The holodeck, part II
Joe turns toward Sue. The computer, still stimulating Joe's brain, supplies Joe with a visual experience that matches Sue. The computer does this using an array of video cameras, which capture Sue's image and adjusts it to account for Joe's position and the perspective he should have of Sue. Does Joe see Sue?Here are what I take to be our ordinary intuitive reactions to these cases. In 1. The neurosurgeon, the special glasses enable Joe to see. In 2. The kaleidoscope, the scrambling of the video signal is so severe that Joe no longer sees. In 3. The holodeck, Joe does not see the same clock that Sue sees. In 4. The holodeck, part II, Joe sees Sue. His visual experience is being created in the same manner as Joe's visual experience in case 1.
