Main description:

serSenses, sensory systems, perception, life sciences, philosophy

Contents:

0 Preface[-]0.1 The spark V[-]0.2 The process V[-]0.3 The form V[-]0.4 The design VI[-]0.5 The reading VIII[-]Acknowledgements IX[-]Contents XI[-]List of text boxes XV[-][-]PART I WHAT COMMON SENSE AND THE LIFE SCIENCES TELL US ABOUT SENSORY[-] SYSTEMS 1[-]1 General introduction 3[-]1.1 Senses and their operation 3[-]1.2 Some definitions 4[-]1.3 Defining the problem 6[-]2 What the life sciences tell about the sensory systems 7[-]2.1 Introduction 7[-]2.2 Two examples 8[-]2.3 Sensory systems: information and stimulus 11[-]2.4 Classification of sensory-systems and some aspects of stimuli 13[-]2.5 Some aspects of stimuli and learning-machinery 14[-]2.6 Perception as the origin of knowledge 17[-]3 What the life sciences tell about the sensory systems (continued) 21[-]3.1 Introduction 21[-]3.2 Scope of human sense-systems 21[-]3.3 Some observatioins on the (human) animal's awareness of his environment 22[-]3.4 'Reality' is not ? 26[-]4 Darwin, anti-Darwin and Evolutionary Epistemology 28[-]4.1 Introduction 28[-]4.2 Creationism and Intelligent Design 29[-]4.3 Darwinism and neo-Darwinism 31[-]4.4 Neo-Darwinism yes, but= 33[-]4.5 Evolutionary epistemology 36[-]5 The unacceptable legacy of Aristotle's holy five 40[-]5.1 Introduction 40[-]5.2 Innateness 40[-]5.3 Five (!) senses (?) 42[-]5.4 Homeostasis 47[-]5.5 The tomato-illusion 49[-][-]PART II FROM OBJECTIVITY TO SUBJECTIVITY 52[-]6 Sense-data, the bird's eye view 54[-]6.1 Introduction 54[-]6.2 The case of the penny 55[-]6.3 Beyond the penny 55[-]6.4 So ... 56[-]7 Sensory perception and the environment 58[-]7.1 Introduction 58[-]7.2 The 'problem of perception' 58[-]7.3 The case of Macbeth's 'dagger' 60[-]7.4 Fruits of perception 61[-]7.5 Sensory systems and the environment 62[-]7.6 The 'fit' of the sensory systems with the environment 65[-]8 Non-sensory sensing and non-linguistic thinking 67[-]8.1 Introduction 67[-]8.2 Introspection 67[-]8.3 Intuition 69[-]8.4 The mind's eye 71[-]8.4.1 Introduction 71[-]8.4.2 Other fields 72[-]8.4.3 Sensory systems and the mind's eye 73[-]8.5 Meditation and contemplation 74[-]8.6 Summary 74[-]9 Mystical experience as an empirical fact 75[-]9.1 Introduction 75[-]9.2 Sources 75[-]9.3 Language 76[-]9.4 Experience 77[-]9.5 Substance 78[-]9.6 Training 78[-]9.7 After-effects 79[-]9.8 Social status of the mystic 80[-]9.9 Points of debate 81[-]9.10 Mind and brain in relation to mysticism 83[-]9.11 Conclusion 84[-][-]PART III FROM SENSING AND PERCEPTION TO CONSCIOUSNESS. [-] BRAIDING THE WATTLE, CONSTRUCTING THE RAFT 87[-]10 From sensory systems to experience 89[-]10.1 Introduction 89[-]10.2 Levels of sensing and levels of perception: prelude to experience 89[-]10.3 Defining experience 92[-]10.4 The something personally encountered and undergone 92[-]10.4.1 Introduction 92[-]10.4.2 Phenomena 93[-]10.4.3 The consciousness side of perceiving 94[-]11 Information 96[-]11.1 Introduction 96[-]11.2 Information as features of the environment 96[-]11.3 Interlude 99[-]11.4 Biosemiotics 100[-]11.4.1 Prelude 101[-]11.4.2 Basics 101[-]11.5 Biosemiotics and perception 102[-]11.6 Summary in a larger context 103[-]12 The construction of some foothold in the swamp 104[-]12.1 Introduction 104[-]12.2 Chisholm's philosophical compass 105[-]12.3 The circle of knowledge and perception 106[-]12.4 Classification of sensory systems 109[-]12.4.1 Introduction 109[-]12.4.2 Criteria for classifying 109[-]12.4.3 The beginnings of classification 111[-]12.5 Receptor signals in the CNS 113[-]12.5.1 Introduction 113[-]12.5.2 The brain 114[-]12.5.3 Mind and consciousness 115[-]12.5.4 Conscious(ness) or not, gap or not: the question 116[-]12.5.5 Consciousness 118[-]12.6 Commuting between consiousness and perception 121[-]12.7 Conclusion 123[-]13 Twining the pieces together / 'Summing-up' 125[-]14 Ad