Blackwell Reference Online

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Our actions are continuously shaped by what we perceive. When a hammer is picked up, this is done in one smooth movement, the hand adjusting in anticipation to the scale and position of the target. But the opposite is also true: what we perceive is determined by our actions. We tend to see those properties of the world which are meaningful for our everyday actions. Interpretation figures in normal seeing: we see an object as a hammer, a person as a friend. The immediacy of these experiences makes it easy to take perception for granted. Yet, perception requires the flexible cooperation of complex neuro-anatomical resources. The eye, the optic nerve, and also a significant portion of the brain are involved in vision. We may further consider the eye muscles that are used for focusing and targeting of the gaze to be part of the visual system, as well as the muscles of the neck and shoulders with which postural adjustments are made. Thus conceived, the major problem in explaining perception is: how do all these resources get coordinated to let the system as a whole perform its function in the relevant circumstances? Flexibility requires that resources can be used in a variety of ways. Just as a hand can be used as a shovel or a hammer depending on the situation, so neural tissues can operate as line detectors and as components of a mental image as well. What is remarkable is that it ... log in or subscribe to read full text