tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post114710213880571899..comments2024-03-25T11:49:21.281-07:00Comments on The Splintered Mind: Development of the Moon Illusion?Eric Schwitzgebelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-1147734312284041322006-05-15T16:05:00.000-07:002006-05-15T16:05:00.000-07:00Cool case. Some of the work on delusions might be...Cool case. Some of the work on delusions might be relevant there (e.g., Tim Bayne).<BR/><BR/>I'll try to catch your poster at the SPP!Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-1147711561402280392006-05-15T09:46:00.000-07:002006-05-15T09:46:00.000-07:00Thanks for the reply Eric,I think you are right th...Thanks for the reply Eric,<BR/><BR/>I think you are right that I am drawing a sharp distinction between perception and thought, perhaps too sharp. And I would also concede that our thoughts can influence our perceptual experiences. However, I think there are really need cases that we can have illusions of thought (as I defined them) as well.<BR/><BR/>A case that always sticks out in my mind involved a woman with anterograde amnesia who initially did not confabulate (form false beliefs, memories, etc). After the onset of amnesia she suffered from a severe head injury, which caused her to confabulate: namely, she formed the belief that her husband was her father! Even though her father was dead and her husband looked nothing like her father (both facts, as I recall, she was aware of) she could not help forming the belief that her husband was her father, when she looked at him. I think it is faily obvious in this case, if my report of it is correct, that what is not involved is a error in perception, but in thought. If this is right, then perhaps there is a case to be made for the sharp(ish) distinction I am making.<BR/><BR/>As for your second point, I will be at the SPP (poster presentation) so I look forward to seeing you present the paperBrendan Ritchiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12514015245612773055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-1147710205835651962006-05-15T09:23:00.000-07:002006-05-15T09:23:00.000-07:00An interesting thought -- but I probably wouldn't ...An interesting thought -- but I probably wouldn't draw as sharp a line between "perception" and "thought" as your proposal seems to require, brendan. At least, it seems that our "thoughts" can influence our "perceptions" at a very basic, phenomenological level.<BR/><BR/>That our perceptual experience of the (perspectival) size of an object is determined by the size of its retinal projection is a common assumption that is perhaps implicit in what you said -- and it may be right -- but I raise some concerns for that view in "Do Things Look Flat?" (one of my forthcoming essays, available on my homepage).Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-1147654700193819262006-05-14T17:58:00.000-07:002006-05-14T17:58:00.000-07:00Jeez,So many spelling and grammar errors...even Ti...Jeez,<BR/><BR/>So many spelling and grammar errors...even Tim's last name...ughBrendan Ritchiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12514015245612773055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-1147654593902860272006-05-14T17:56:00.000-07:002006-05-14T17:56:00.000-07:00Hey Eric,Perhaps what changes with age is the sort...Hey Eric,<BR/><BR/>Perhaps what changes with age is the sort of illusion one thinks the moon illusion is. <BR/>My own understanding of the illusion is that it has to do with the proximity to the horizon that causes us to think it is bigget than it appears (I owe this understanding to Tim Schoeder. So if it is wrong, I blame him). That is, the main is still an image of the same size in our visual field, but the conscious thoughts/judgments we make about its size change. So, a distinction: we can have illusions of perception (like if, in fact, the moon DID take up more area in our visual field for some reason) and illusion of thought (like the above account of the moon illusion suggests). So, when young, our experience is the same as when we are older, but we think it is a illusion of perception, and it is not till we have experience of the phenomena that we realize that it looks the same, and the illusion is one of thought.<BR/>In defense of the illusion of thought account of the moon phenomena, I know that it is comon to experience the same illuision with other things (like shorelines, and cranes).Brendan Ritchiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12514015245612773055noreply@blogger.com