Sensory Perception: Mind and Matter PDF
Preview Sensory Perception: Mind and Matter
~ SpringerWienNewYork Friedrich G. Barth Patrizia Giampieri-Deutsch Hans-Dieter Klein (eds.) Sensory Perception Mind and Matter Friedrich G. Barth Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria Patrizia Giampieri-Deutsch Institute of Philosophy, University of Vienna, Austria Hans-Dieter Klein Institute of Philosophy, University of Vienna, Austria This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, broadcasting, reproduction by photocopying machines or similar means, and storage in data banks. Product Liability: The publisher can give no guarantee for all the information contained in this book. This does also refer to information about drug dosage and application thereof. In every individual case the respective user must check its accuracy by consulting other pharmaceutical literature. The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. © 2012 Springer-Verlag/Wien SpringerWienNewYork is part of Springer Science+Business Media springer.at Cover Illustrations: Johannes Deutsch, Vision Mahler - Draft lOb, 2004, Detail © Johannes Deutsch, VBK Wien Typesetting: Jung Crossmedia Publishing GmbH, 35633 Lahnau, Germany Printed on acid-free and chlorine-free bleached paper SPIN: 86147749 With 87 (mostly coloured) Figures Library of Congress Control Number: 2011940536 ISBN 978-3-211-99750-5 SpringerWienNewYork Prologue This book is about sensory perception in the brains themselves. Without them there a very broad sense. It aims towards the would neither be neurophilosophy nor mo strengthening of existing bridges and the lecular neurobiology, which has included the building of new ones between a wide range so-called lower animals like flies and bees of disciplines traditionally separate from and snails into its research most successfully. each other and considered to be hunting in Such animals may vastly differ from us their own different woods. The gaps be humans. At the same time they share with tween the search for the molecular mech us a surprising number of the basic proper anisms at work in sensory cells or the brain ties of living organisms. These include brain of a fruit fly and the examination of cognitive functions like learning and memory and even functions and capabilities in man are indeed quite advanced cognitive abilities which only obvious, as are the differences between the a few years ago no one could have expected psychophysics of color vision and neuro to find in bees, birds, or dogs. philosophy. We are confronted with differ Our book is meant to provide at least a ences in regard to both the level of com glimpse at some of the many exciting mod plexity of the systems examined and the ern developments in the study of sensory procedures applied to analyse them. perception, both technical and conceptual. However, despite of all these differences At the same time we are aware of the fact there are commonalities as well. The most that in terms of evolution the story we would eminent ones are the sensory systems and like to illuminate from various points of view VI Prologue is a very old one. AI/living organisms rely on from an understanding of the insights information on their outside and inside of modern neurobiology into the mechan worlds. Without such information proper isms of sensory processing in animals and behavior ensuring survival and procreation humans. Likewise neurobiology can and in is impossible. It should therefore not come deed should profit from a central task of as a surprise to find sensory mechanisms of philosophy, which is to keep or make remarkable refinement even in bacteria and terminology and concepts clear, thereby in single celled protozoans. creasing their unifying power. Also, in the In higher animals evolutionary selective age of biology and in view of the over pressures have led to a fascinating diversity whelming importance often attributed to it, of sensory and nervous systems. Eyes, ears it may be wise trying to see biology in a still and noses as well as many types of sense larger context. This seems to be particularly organs providing information alien to our relevant for functional brain research which human experience represent the windows despite its fascinating advances clearly of the brain to the outside world. They are demonstrates the present limits of biologic the interfaces between an organism's en al reasoning. vironment and its behavior. As a rule all these Unfortunately, perception and conscious windows are highly specialized filters. They ness have often been conflated in philosophy provide the individual organism with the in (as in every day language). Both neuropsych formation on a small fraction of the physical ological studies of brain-damaged patients world only. This small fraction, however, is the and subliminality studies have now led to a biologically relevant one, both in space and revision of the common assumption that time. perception and consciousness of perception We humans are no exception to these are always inseparable. Studies of sublim general rules. To explain and understand inality have in addition demonstrated that the mechanisms of information processing controlled investigations into unconscious and the generation of meaning by our brain conflicts, unconscious affect, and uncon has been given attention for more than scious anxiety are possible. 2000 years. A particular incentive for this Sensory perception is functionally related long-lasting search may have been the fact to an organism's reactions. The range of is that we do have subjective conscious sues addressed by the present book there experiences associated with brain activity fore includes free will, which, defined as lib and that we are able to describe them ertarian free will, implies free actions, verbally. Unfortunately one has to admit, unconstrained and uncaused by any physical that despite all the brilliant advances of the process, and has been a topic of hot debates modern molecular and cellular neuro recently. Libertarian free will is incompatible sciences higher functions emerging from with the concept of the physical world as a the complex activity of systems of many closed causal system. The more sophistic neurons cannot be explained yet at the ated approach of the compatibilists rejects level of brain function. libertarian free will and is supported by a Sensory perception, the topic of the long philosophical tradition inaugurated by present book, provides access to both the Aristotle more than 2000 years ago. sciences of the brain and the sciences of There is currently no consent regarding the mind. We are convinced that classical the answer to the question whether the sci questions of philosophy and psychology re ences involved in the study of sensory per ferring to perception and mind will benefit ception are autonomous enterprises which Prologue VII can interface with each other and exchange food for thought and reflection which hope their results, or whether the findings of, say, fully will contribute to promote such a dis psychology, should be reducible and indeed course and also point to the big gaps still to reduced to findings elaborated by the neuro be bridged. Some of the contributions may sciences. The current philosophy of mind also help to overcome the deep rooted bias again raises the traditional metaphysical of humans to overemphasize the uniqueness questions but certainly requires empirical of their brains and increase the awareness of answers that only the experimental sciences the impossibility to decouple the "mind" can provide. from evolutionary biology and the question Our book strives to bring together the of biological fitness. neurosciences with psychology, which speaks We are very grateful to the University the language of cognitive experiences and of Vienna (in particular the faculty of Life with philosophy, which has been thinking Sciences) and the Austrian Academy of Sci and arguing about the meaning and origin of ences which were the main sponsors of a consciousness since its beginning. The de very successful and stimulating international bate about the possibility to explain mental symposium held in Vienna in 2008 on the phenomena neurobiologically will still have same topic. This symposium initiated the to continue for a while. The editors of this idea of publishing the present book. We book are convinced, however, that in any also thank Springer Verlag Wien New York case we need a patient interdisciplinary dis for the help and guidance received during course between neurobiology, psychology the preparation of this book. and philosophy if we aim at an in depth understanding of the many fascinating facets Wien and Lofer, January 2011 of sensory perception and their relation to Friedrich G. Barth brain functions and cognition. Leading ex Patrizio Giampieri-Deutsch perts have written chapters for our book as Hans-Dieter Klein Contents Prologue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V I Basic mechanisms in sensory systems Introductory remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1. Stephan Frings Sensory cells and sensory organs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2. Geoffrey A. Manley Vertebrate hearing: origin, evolution and functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3. Kristine Krug Principles of function in the visual system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 4. Wolf Singer What binds it all together? Synchronized oscillatory activity in normal and patho- logical cognition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 II Evolutionary epistemology Introductory remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 5. Gerhard Vollmer Between biology and philosophy: our knowledge of the real world . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 6. Friedrich G. Barth Sensory perception: adaptation to lifestyle and habitat ..................... 89 7. Martin Giurfa Visual learning in social insects: from simple associations to higher-order problem solving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 8. Ludwig Huber and Anna Wilkinson Evolution of cognition: a comparative approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 135 x Contents III Perception, art, and illusion Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 9. Christoph v. Campenhausen and Jurgen Schramme Understanding color vision, with comments on mind and matter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 10. Richard L. Gregoryt Pictures as strange objects of perception ................................. 175 11. Rene Weissensteiner, Thomas Steinkellner, Andreas Jurik, Simon Bulling, Walter Sandtner, Oliver Kudlacek, Michael Freissmuth, Gerhard F. Ecker and Harald H. Sitte Towards an understanding of the psychostimulant action of amphetamine and cocaine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 183 12. Daniel Bowling and Dale Purves A biological basis for musical tonality .................................... 205 13. Johannes Deutsch Synaesthesia and synergy in art. Gustav Mahler's "Symphony No.2 in C minor" as an example of interactive music visualization ........................... 215 IV Perception and memory: conscious and unconscious processes Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 239 14. Patrizia Giampieri-Deutsch Perception, conscious and unconscious processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 245 15. Howard Shevrin Consciousness, states of consciousness, unconscious psychological processes, and psychological states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 265 16. Matthew Hugh Erdelyi Explicit and implicit memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 V The history of sensory worlds Introductory remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 295 17. John Gaget Colour ordered and disordered. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 299 18. Robert Jutte The sense of smell in historical perspective ............................... 313 Contents XI VI Neurophilosophy and free will Introductory remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 335 19. Gerhard Roth Neurophilosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 339 20. Ernst Steinkellner Sensory perception, body and mind in Indian Buddhist philosophy. . . . . . . . . . .. 357 21. Sybille Kramer The 'eye of the mind' and the 'eye of the body': Descartes and Leibniz on truth, mathematics, and visuality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 369 22. Hans-Dieter Klein Free will. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 383 Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 List of contributors ....................................................... 399 The editors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 403
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