Skip to content Skip to navigation
University of Warwick
  • Study
  • |
  • Research
  • |
  • Business
  • |
  • Alumni
  • |
  • News
  • |
  • About

University of Warwick
Publications service & WRAP

Highlight your research

  • WRAP
    • Home
    • Search WRAP
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse WRAP by Year
    • Browse WRAP by Subject
    • Browse WRAP by Department
    • Browse WRAP by Funder
    • Browse Theses by Department
  • Publications Service
    • Home
    • Search Publications Service
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse Publications service by Year
    • Browse Publications service by Subject
    • Browse Publications service by Department
    • Browse Publications service by Funder
  • Help & Advice
University of Warwick

The Library

  • Login
  • Admin

Watching, sight, and the temporal shape of perceptual activity

Tools
- Tools
+ Tools

Crowther, Thomas (2009) Watching, sight, and the temporal shape of perceptual activity. Philosophical Review, 118 (1). pp. 1-27. doi:10.1215/00318108-2008-027

[img]
Preview
PDF
WRAP_Crowther_1275634-ph-090316-watching_sight__temporal_shape.pdf - Accepted Version - Requires a PDF viewer.

Download (325Kb) | Preview
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00318108-2008-027

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

There has been relatively little discussion, in contemporary philosophy of mind, of the active aspects of perceptual processes. This essay presents and offers some preliminary development of a view about what it is for an agent to watch a particular material object throughout a period of time. On this view, watching is a kind of perceptual activity distinguished by a distinctive epistemic role.

The essay presents a puzzle about watching an object that arises through elementary reflection on the consequences of two apparent truths about watching an object throughout a period of time. It proposes that the puzzle can be resolved by a view according to which for an agent to watch an object throughout a period of time is for that agent to maintain visual awareness of that object with the aim of perceptually knowing what that object is doing.

The essay goes on to make some further suggestions about how the apparatus developed in connection with the notion of watching may enable us to offer related explanations of other kinds of perceptual activity. It proposes that a useful distinction can be drawn between perceptual activities like watching which have as their aim knowledge of what an object is doing and activities like looking or visually scrutinizing which have as their aims knowledge of the states or conditions of the objects of perceptual awareness.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Faculty of Social Sciences > Philosophy
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Perception (Philosophy), Visual perception
Journal or Publication Title: Philosophical Review
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISSN: 0031-8108
Official Date: 2009
Dates:
DateEvent
2009Published
Volume: 118
Number: 1
Number of Pages: 27
Page Range: pp. 1-27
DOI: 10.1215/00318108-2008-027
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics

twitter

Email us: wrap@warwick.ac.uk
Contact Details
About Us