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

This volume traces the history of thinking about perception from its early philosophical roots to the modern laboratory. Some of the questions it considers have been asked since antiquity - Is what we see the truth? Are everyone's perceptual experiences the same? What is the nature of infants' perception? What kinds of mistakes are made in perceiving? Can perceptual experience be communicated to others? The author sets the groundwork with an explanation of the five senses and how science has come to observe them. He also explores the idea of perceptual error which becomes the lens through which the study of perception is viewed. This examination of perception is described in chapters devoted to historical periods from the Greeks to the present time following themes of adaptation and how the senses are linked to an intricately organized brain which not only helps us perceive what is necessary for survival, but also creates links from the patterns of sensory stimulation to language and thought.

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)