Synopses & Reviews
Lambert Wiesing's The Philosophy of Perception challenges current theories of perception. Instead of attempting to understand how a subject perceives the world, Wiesing starts by taking perception to be real. He then asks what this reality means for a subject. In his original approach, the question of how human perception is possible is displaced by questions about what perception obliges us to be and do. He argues that perception requires us to be embodied, to be visible, and to continually participate in the public and physical world we perceive. Only in looking at images, he proposes, can we achieve something like a break in participation, a temporary respite from this, one of perception's relentless demands.
Wiesing's methods chart a markedly new path in contemporary perception theory. In addition to identifying common ground among diverse philosophical positions, he identifies how his own, phenomenological approach differs from those of many other philosophers, past and present. As part of the argument, he provides a succinct but comprehensive survey of the philosophy of images
His original critical exposition presents scholars of phenomenology, perception and aesthetics with a new, important understanding of the old phenomenon, the human being in the world.
Synopsis
Lambert Wiesing's The Philosophy of Perception challenges current theories of perception. Instead of attempting to understand how a subject perceives the world, Wiesing uses phenomenology to advocate a change in current thinking. His original approach presents human perception, not as product of a subject, but as the main subject, revealing how perception enables us to identify ourselves within the world.
While traditional approaches look at the conditions necessary for us to perceive, Weising asks and examines the consequences of perception: corporeality, visibility and public participation. These effects are described in phenomenological terms, providing a new and lucid description of the mental state of perceiving.
Weisling's methods represent a significant shift in perception theory, offering a comprehensive survey of the philosophy of images and enriching contemporary debates about the current state of perception theory. His original critical exposition presents scholars of phenomenology, perception and aesthetics with a new, important understanding of the old phenomenon, the human being in the world.
About the Author
Lambert Wiesing is Professor of Philosophy at Jena University, Germany. He was President of the German Society for Aesthetics between 2005 and 2008.
Nancy Ann Roth is an independent writer and translator.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Philosophical Myths and Models
2. Phenomenology: Philosophy without a Model
3. The Me of Perception
4. The Pause in Participation
Index