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Sensory perception: mind and matter aims at a deeper understanding of the many facets of sensory perception and their relations to brain function and cognition. It is an attempt to promote the interdisciplinary discourse between the neurosciences and psychology, which speaks the language of cognitive experiences, and philosophy, which has been thinking about the meaning and origin of consciousness since its beginning. Leading experts contribute to such a discourse by informing the reader about exciting modern developments, both technical and conceptual, and by pointing to the big gaps still to be bridged. The various chapters provide access to scientific research on sensory perception and the mind from a broad perspective, covering a large spectrum of topics which range from the molecular mechanisms at work in sensory cells to the study of the unconscious and to neurophilosophy.
List of contents
Prologue.- Basic mechanisms in sensory systems.- Introductory remarks.- Stephan Frings, Sensory cells and sensory organs.- Geoffrey A. Manley, Vertebrate hearing: origin, evolution and functions.- Kristine Krug, Principles of function in the visual system.- Wolf Singer, What binds it all together? Synchronized oscillatory activity in normal and patho-logical cognition.- Evolutionary epistemology.- Introductory remarks.- Gerhard Vollmer, Between biology and philosophy: our knowledge of the real world.- Friedrich G. Barth, Sensory perception: adaptation to lifestyle and habitat.- Martin Giurfa, Visual learning in social insects: from simple associations to higher-order problem solving.- Ludwig Huber and Anna Wilkinson, Evolution of cognition: a comparative approach.- Perception, art, and illusion.- Introductory remarks.- Christoph v. Campenhausen and Jürgen Schramme, Understanding color vision, with comments on mind and matter.- Richard L. Gregory , Pictures as strange objects of perception.- René Weissensteiner, Thomas Steinkellner, Andreas Jurik, Simon Bulling, Walter Sandtner, Oliver Kudlacek, Michael Freissmuth, Gerhard F. Ecker and Harald H. Sitte, Towards an understanding of the psychostimulant action of amphetamine and Cocaine.- Daniel Bowling and Dale Purves, A biological basis for musical.- Johannes Deutsch, Synaesthesia and synergy in art. Gustav Mahler's "Symphony No. 2 in C minor" as an example of interactive music visualization.- Perception and memory: conscious and unconscious processes.- Introductory remarks.- Patrizia Giampieri-Deutsch, Perception, conscious and unconscious processes.- Howard Shevrin, Consciousness, states of consciousness, unconscious psychological processes, and psychological states.- Matthew Hugh Erdelyi, Explicit and implicit memory.- The history of sensory worlds.- Introductory remarks.- John Gage, Colour ordered and disordered.- Robert Jütte, The sense of smell in historical perspective.- Neurophilosophy and free will.- Introductory remarks.- Gerhard Roth, Neurophilosophy.- Ernst Steinkellner, Sensory perception, body and mind in Indian Buddhist philosophy.- Sybille Krämer, The 'eye of the mind' and the 'eye of the body': Descartes and Leibniz on truth, mathematics, and visuality.- Hans-Dieter Klein, Free will.- Index.- List of contributors.- The editors.
Summary
Sensory perception: mind and matter aims at a deeper understanding of the many facets of sensory perception and their relations to brain function and cognition. It is an attempt to promote the interdisciplinary discourse between the neurosciences and psychology, which speaks the language of cognitive experiences, and philosophy, which has been thinking about the meaning and origin of consciousness since its beginning. Leading experts contribute to such a discourse by informing the reader about exciting modern developments, both technical and conceptual, and by pointing to the big gaps still to be bridged. The various chapters provide access to scientific research on sensory perception and the mind from a broad perspective, covering a large spectrum of topics which range from the molecular mechanisms at work in sensory cells to the study of the unconscious and to neurophilosophy.
Additional text
From the reviews:
“This book explores the current research on sensory perception and links between animal and human studies. … The obvious audience is neuroscientists, but it certainly also includes those in a variety of disciplines, including psychology and neuropsychology, as well as psychiatry, neurology, and philosophy given the final section of the book. … there are colorful, good quality illustrations, as well as diagrams, charts, and models throughout. The references are generally up to date, but also include relevant seminal contributions.” (Christopher J. Graver, Doody’s Review Service, December, 2012)
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From the reviews:
"This book explores the current research on sensory perception and links between animal and human studies. ... The obvious audience is neuroscientists, but it certainly also includes those in a variety of disciplines, including psychology and neuropsychology, as well as psychiatry, neurology, and philosophy given the final section of the book. ... there are colorful, good quality illustrations, as well as diagrams, charts, and models throughout. The references are generally up to date, but also include relevant seminal contributions." (Christopher J. Graver, Doody's Review Service, December, 2012)
