Binocular Rivalry

DEBATE CONTINUES OVER WHETHER AN “Aristotelian philosophy of mind” is still credible. Recent commentators wonder whether Aristotle’s view lies somewhere in the constellation of modern theories of mind, or whether he might point to an uncharted theory. Because he viewed his own account as an alternative to both Platonic dualism and Presocratic materialism, moderns seeking a middle way between Cartesian dualism and reductionist physicalism have looked to Aristotle for inspiration. As Jonathan Barnes observes, “Philosophy of mind has for centuries been (...) whirled between a Cartesian Charybdis and a scientific Scylla: Aristotle has the look of an Odysseus.”. (shrink)

This book amounts to a set of prolegomena to any future metaphysics of the self that might qualify as a science. It seeks to locate the traditional concerns of what is now called "virtue ethics" within the naturalistic parameters of contemporary evolutionary biology, not so much by arguing that those parameters are the necessary ones or the only ones available but by considering what ethical intuitions can be maintained on their hypothesis. Within what the author calls "naturalistic brackets" he proceeds (...) to explore "what would become of ethics if we had no higher ideal to pursue than our own natural health". Those who have already found philosophical stimulation in such writers as Konrad Lorenz, E. O. Wilson, and Mary Midgley, for example, will welcome what amounts to a bridge between a contemporary scientific idiom and the traditional philosophical idioms of Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hobbes, and Nietzsche. The chief question might be put: How can we make intelligible the nobility of virtue, once we have eschewed all transcendent consolation? The author's positive, optimistic answer requires a careful analysis of the notion of health, both bodily and mental, and a great deal of conceptual sophistication in order to avoid the various pitfalls of reductionist and scientistic thinking. One of the book's striking successes is just how sensibly its author negotiates those potential traps, deftly finding his own clear path through the sorts of debates that have for some time now typically been used to upset or derail metaphysical inquiry: nature vs. nurture, essence vs. freedom, univocity vs. language games, universality vs. contingency. There are no simplistic, irritating either/ors here. Furthermore, the book's "transformational, therapeutic vision of ethics is something very different from the justification of rules of correct behavior that we now think of as moral philosophy". Deontologists will find little comfort in this timely return to exploring the continuities between nature and the good. (shrink)

The modern physiological optics introduces the notions related to the conditions of fusion of binocular images by the concept of correspondence, due to Christiaan Huygens, and by an experiment attributed to Christoph Scheiner. The conceptualization of this experiment dates, in fact, back to Ptolemy and Ibn al-Haytham. The present paper surveys Ibn al-Haytham's knowledge about the mechanisms of binocular vision. The article subsequently explains why Ibn al-Haytham, a mathematician, but here an experimenter, did not give the circular figure of the (...) theoretical horopter, construction due to Gerhard Vieth and Johannes Müller. But, on the other hand, it is clear that Ibn al-Haytham's experimental study puts in place the notion of corresponding points, the cases of homonymous and cross diplopia, and even prepares the discovery of Panum area. (shrink)

The reality of the soul, its levels and actions, and its relation to the body havealways been among the most important philosophical issues, andevidence for this may be found even in the most ancient philosophicaldeliberations of the Greeks and others.In the philosophical traditions of the Islamic world as well, serious attemptshave been made to present a “science of the soul” which is in accord with thespirit of Islamic philosophical sciences. In the Transcendent Philosophy, onthe other hand, a version of science (...) of the soul has been presented whichboth justifies the concrete sphere of “the immaterial and material soul” anddescribes “the soul’s becoming and seeking for perfection”. In addition, it isfully consistent with the components and overall structure of theTranscendent Philosophy.Based on doctrines of principiality of existence, motion in substance, bodilyorigination and spiritually subsistence of the soul, Mulla Sadra depicts man’ssoul and its station in such a way which is free from usual inconsistencies ofphilosophical traditions in this regard. At the same time, based on the Bookand tradition, he opens a new window to man’s existence through which theexistential dimensions of man are seen in correspondence and as beingsimilar to the whole cosmos. Though, in this way, Mulla Sadra has madeuses of the Peripatetic and Illuminationist traditions of his forerunners, hisown innovations are unrivalled and exceptionally strong. (shrink)

The author tries to prove that hypnosis is a science to be used in everyday life. Hence his efforts to locate the lost body of a dead woman through hypnosis and the help of a very sensitive medium. The initial practical point of learning the whereabouts of the body gets lost however—the body is never found-in the course of his dialogues with the patient through whom he has contacted a "privileged soul" who lives close to the "Leader" in the highest (...) hierarchy of heaven. Mr. Ward attempts to provide simple answers to the great questions of life and death in an authoritative manner. Most of the book is in question and answer form with a final chapter of summary and conclusions. Altogether it is a naive exposition of a much disputed field.—E. O. T. (shrink)

In recent years there has been an escalating interest in Neoplatonism. This newly compiled collection of eighteen articles, written over a period of twenty-five years, demonstrates this point, but even more, gives clear assistance to both the seasoned and the young "proselyte" scholar of classical philosophy. Only the first article has not been previously published; it looks at some of the Neoplatonic characteristics, and indicates how the picture of this "group of philosophies" has changed during the last three decades.

“Source monitoring” theory is applied to the turn-of-the-century argument that, whenever binocularly fused patterns are self-consciously apperceived, both eyes' monocular sensations are consciously perceived. According to monitoring theory's refinement of the argument, binocularly apperceived patterns are accompanied by selfconsciousness that one is perceiving patterns , whereas monocular sensations are accompanied by no self-consciousness of their source. In the current test of this refined argument, 32 subjects were monocularly presented with 6 letters of the alphabet, while binocularly fusing 6 different letters, (...) and were subsequently required to discriminate these 12 letters from 6 other letters that they had visually imaged. Consistent with monitoring theory, the results of experimental testing suggest that binocularly fused letters are neurally monitored as “peripheral,” self-consciously experienced as “perceived,” and subsequently remembered as not “imaged.” The results further suggest that, during such binocular apperception, monocular data are not totally unconscious-like computer data-but are consciously experienced as “sourceless” sensations that are memorially confused with visually imaged sensations. (shrink)

The target article retains the traditional account of saccades as conjugate eye movements. However, recent single-unit recordings of premotor cells in the saccade pathway (excitatory burster neurons [EBNs]) found that they do not encode conjugate eye velocity, but rather, monocular eye velocity. These data argue against the traditional concept of saccades as inherently conjugate. Instead, they suggest a monocular mechanism in the sensorimotor transformation stage of saccade generation. This commentary will discuss the implications of these data for the saccade generation (...) model proposed in Findlay & Walker's target article. (shrink)