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PROBLEMS OF VISION

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PROBLEMS

OF VISION

Rethinking the

Causal Theory

of Perception

GERALD VISION

New York Oxford

Oxford University Press

1997

Oxford University Press

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Vision, Gerald.

Problems of vision : rethinking the causal theory of

perception / Gerald Vision.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-19-510498-6

1. Perception. 2. Sense (Philosophy) 3. Visual perception.

4. Senses and sensation. I. Title.

BD214.V57 1996

131'.3—dc20

96-23100

135798642

Printed in the United States of America

on acid-free paper

PREFACE

By the time I originally set out to tie up loose ends in the causal theory of percep-

tion (in a tidy monograph!), the view already suffered from a badly split personal-

ity. From its seventeenth century renewal till well into this century, the causal

theory has been a codicil to sense-datum philosophy, citing causes in the physical

environment to explain how the purely subjective contents of our experience could

be regarded by us as providing information about that environment. In that role it

has been an embattled view, coming under a barrage of epistemological and se-

mantic objections. The causes that it cites remain forever beyond the compass of

any humanly possible experience. Later, shortly after midcentury, just as sense-

datum philosophy was undergoing a steady and seemingly permanent decline,

causalism was defended on grounds independent of its former function. Thus,

paradoxically, causalism was enjoying something of a minirevival while the phi-

losophy of perception to which its fate had been heretofore linked was becoming

a quaint historical relic. (Of course, a few devoted, talented sense-datum theorists

are still around. Philosophy seldom totally obliterates old and unfashionable

views. But the merits of the case aside, this accurately summarizes recent trends

in philosophy.)

This state of affairs has fostered some confusion, and in my naive enthusiasm

for the subject I had failed to realize what labrythine paths it would take me down.

More than a few philosophers are bewildered about where a causal theory fits: "If

it is not an emergency exit from sense-datum philosophy and that view's dreadful

consequences, of what use is it?" The somewhat cryptic answer, which I develop

further later, is that it explains how sensory evidence is a product of what it is

evidence for. Meanwhile, certain critics, unable to detach causalism from its clas-

sical associations, are astounded that recent thinkers continue to rely on it. "Hasn't

this new breed of causalists heard about the devastating objections both to subjec-

tive contents and to appealing to a forever-beyond-our-grasp reality to rescue our

chestnuts from the fire?" Up to the time of this writing, objections to the causal

theory from some usually reliable quarters begin with a familiar warning that

normal perceptual experience doesn't involve purely subjective contents.

One reason for reopening this issue is to set the record straight on this score.

In that respect, this book is a hopeful monster; the sort of mutation that selec-

tionists give some better than usual, but still slight, chance for taking root in the

evolutionary soil. I cannot claim it is a reason I had for undertaking the project in

the first place. For, as I mentioned, until I intensified my search for sources, both

pro and con, I failed to realize just how deeply entrenched was the confusion

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