Perception and Illusion: Historical Perspectives(Library of the History of Psychological Theories)

Our contact with the world is through perception, and therefore the study of the process is of obvious importance and signi?cance. For much of its long history, the study of perception has been con?ned to natural- tic observation. Nonetheless, the phenomena considered worthy of note have not been those that nurture our survival—the veridical features of perception—but the oddities or departures from the common and c- monplace accuracies of perception. With the move from the natural world to the laboratory the oddities of perception multiplied, and they received ever more detailed scrutiny. My general intention is to examine the interpretations of the perc- tual process and its errors throughout history. The emphasis on errors of perception might appear to be a narrow approach, but in fact it enc- passes virtually all perceptual research from the ancients until the present. The constancies of perception have been taken for granted whereas - partures from constancies (errors or illusions) have fostered fascination.

Table of Contents:
Recording Observations.- Nature of Perceptual Error.- Nature of Veridicality.- Perception in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.- The Instrumental Revolution in the Nineteenth Century.- The Response Revolution in the Nineteenth Century.- The Fragmentation of the Senses in the Nineteenth Century.- The Twentieth Century—The Multiplication of Illusion.- Conclusions.

Review :

From the reviews:

"Wade has published numerous books and articles on perception, many of which deal with the history of research in this area. The present volume continues this trend … . Wade carries the historical account up to the present and concerns himself almost exclusively with vision, emphasizing the associations among art, illusion, and the scientific study of perception. … Highly recommended." (R. H. Cormack, Choice, Vol. 42 (10), 2005)

"Nicholas Wade is an active empirical visual scientist who has also become a leading historian for our subject. ... He has now presented an overall view of the history of perception, with an emphasis on visual perception. … The book is clearly written in an engaging style and provides the only broad but concise review of the history of the main topics in perception." (Prof. Ian P. Howard, Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 41 (4), 2005)

"Nicholas Wade of Dundee University is characteristic of the breed of scientist-historian: he is respected for his own experimental work on visual perception, but he has also established himself as one of the foremost historians of visual science. … Perception and Illusion begins in the time of Euclid and Aristotle … . He ends with the late 20th-century view of the human observer as an information-processing system … . Despite this vast territory, Wade has a firm and accurate grasp of his material." (John Mollon, The Times Higher Educational Supplement, October, 2005)