The perception of material qualities and the internal semantics of the perceptual system

摘要: The perception of material qualities poses a pre-eminent challenge for theory and provides an instructive study case probing the soundness explanatory force theoretical frameworks perception. Phenomena pertaining to appearances are particularly suited expose gap between information available in sensory input meaningful categories that characterise output perceptual system. More than seemingly elementary attributes, such as shape or colour, impart objects their properties of, say, being soft, wet, malleable, silky, juicy, edible, deformable. We obviously endowed with specific capacity by which we can visually attain aspects pertain ‘hidden’ dispositional powers propensities. Due this capacity, not only identify kinds stuff, but also grasp abundant variety go far beyond purely visual attributes. This is part our more general making causal assignments embedding all experiences into various internal analyses. kind ascriptions perceptually accessible from data subordinated type object activated data. In ‘surfaces’ understood objects, physical ones these qualities, to, e.g., how surfaces will appear under changes orientation location, haptic be elicited them, they behave interactions, both agent other objects.