The structure of sensorimotor explanation.
The sensorimotor theory of vision and visual consciousness is often described as a radical alternative to the computational and connectionist orthodoxy in the study of visual perception. However, it is far from clear whether the theory represents a significant departure from orthodox approaches or w...
| Published in: | Synthese Vol. 196; no. 11; pp. 4527 - 4554 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Springer Nature
Nov2019
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=139254713&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 139254713 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00397857 4LI jtl: Synthese issn: 00397857 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Nov2019 vid: 196 iid: 11 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 139254713 10.1007/s11229-017-1664-9 ppf: 4527 ppct: 27 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 643KB tig: atl: The structure of sensorimotor explanation. aug: au: Vernazzani, Alfredo affil: Institut für Philosophie II, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44799, Bochum, Germany su: Structural analysis (Engineering) Explanation Visual perception Vision Problem solving Consciousness sug: subj: Structural analysis (Engineering) Explanation Visual perception Vision Problem solving Consciousness keyword: Dynamical hypothesis Laws Mechanistic explanation Sensorimotor theory ab: The sensorimotor theory of vision and visual consciousness is often described as a radical alternative to the computational and connectionist orthodoxy in the study of visual perception. However, it is far from clear whether the theory represents a significant departure from orthodox approaches or whether it is an enrichment of it. In this study, I tackle this issue by focusing on the explanatory structure of the sensorimotor theory. I argue that the standard formulation of the theory subscribes to the same theses of the dynamical hypothesis and that it affords covering-law explanations. This however exposes the theory to the mere description worry and generates a puzzle about the role of representations. I then argue that the sensorimotor theory is compatible with a mechanistic framework, and show how this can overcome the mere description worry and solve the problem of the explanatory role of representations. By doing so, it will be shown that the theory should be understood as an enrichment of the orthodoxy, rather than an alternative. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Synthese is a copyright of Springer, 2019. All Rights Reserved. item: Synthese holder: Springer Nature dt: @attributes: year: 2019 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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