The Machine behind the Stage: A Neurobiological Approach toward Theoretical Issues of Sensory Perception.
Frontiers in psychology January 1, 2016 Konstantinos Moutoussis 1 citation
A percept emerges when the brain is activated in a certain way, and all perceptual experiences—whether veridical, illusory, or hallucinatory—share this common neural cause. What distinguishes them is the separate external cause of that activation pattern. The article argues that everyday language’s separation of the perceptual event from its hypothetical content creates unnecessary ontological complications. A clear distinction is made between physical properties of the real world (e.g., wavelength reflectance) and psychological properties of perceptual experiences (e.g., color). Although perception is a way of acquiring knowledge, this acquisition is a cognitive process separate from and following perception, which should remain neutral regarding the truth of the knowledge acquired.