Besides addressing the classic questions of how perception works, the book highlights the intricate connections between perception and action as well as perception that is not triggered by sensory input, like mental imagery, dreaming, and hallucination. Further, the book balances out an overemphasis on vision in the literature by giving almost equal coverage to all the sense modalities (although some examples are easier to present in visual form).
Questions that are discussed in detail include:
With helpful chapter summaries and a comprehensive final bibliography, Perception: The Basics is sure to be the first-stop for anyone trying to better understand this important area of interdisciplinary research.
Bence Nanay is Professor of Philosophical Psychology and BOF research professor at the University of Antwerp . He published four monographs with Oxford UP (Between Perception and Action, 2013; Aesthetics as Philosophy of Perception, 2016; Aesthetics: A Very Short Introduction, 2019; and Mental Imagery: Philosophy, Psychology, Neuroscience, 2023) with three more under contract. He is the director of the European Network for Sensory Research.