Attention & the indeterminacy of visual experience

摘要: Visual attention plays an important role in epistemology. You come to know about things you see by paying them, and thereby taking them up thought belief. Recent work the cognitive sciences shows that also has a quite different role. Attention dictates not only what take belief, but how appear visual experience. enhances neural signal that's processed for attended aspects of scene, so highlights those changing their appearance. For example, drawing colour makes it more saturated; shape larger. This raises challenge epistemology attention. It threatens show is systematic source illusion, rather than reliable knowledge. Indeed, some scientists working area draw conclusion.To meet this challenge, I argue experience determinable properties: properties which admit specific determinations, as red determined crimson, 90 110 feet long 100 long. One determinate property determines many properties. So one or may on appearances, veridical experiences its determinables. And determinates. share appearance, they all determine. experimental data appearance are fact well analysed way. changes colour, giving same saturated unattended colour; appearances remain through change, because consist colours, each stimulus really instantiates. More generally, we need recognise vision, if we're understand experiments tell us contents experience.To properties, empirical limits resolution. processes sensitive finest details scene; they're maximally where property. explore metaphysics arguing have natural unity merely disjunctive lack. On basis, phenomenological characteristic single colour.With account indeterminacy hand, can re-assess traditional assumptions nature attention, relationship between In Anglophone philosophy, often conceived window onto experience: gives access experience, does alter them. While clearly untenable light findings, weaker view attracted recent interest: constitutively independent attention; your seeing do partly attending. make relevant notion constitutive dependence precise, criticise Ned Block's argument version view, grounds he underestimates experience.I then that, instances, depend - vice versa. defend William James's definition conscious `focalization, concentration consciousness'. conceived, propose, further mode consciousness, over above perceptual thought. Rather, consists focusing these modes consciousness. shown increases resolution: when attend, Here, argue, mutually constitutive: another. terms cognition perception. This, form exploit it. conclude exploring consequences intentionalism