Philosophy Faculty Publications

Title

Two Types of Theories: The Impact on Churchland’s ‘Perceptual Plasticity’

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1995

Publication Source

Philosophical Psychology

Abstract

In this paper I argue that because Churchland does not adequately address the distinction between high‐level cognitive theories and low‐level embodied theories, Churchland's claims for theory‐laden perception lose their epistemological significance. I propose that Churchland and others debating the theory‐ladenness of perception should distinguish carefully between two main ways in which perception is plastic: through modifying our high‐level theories directly and through modifying our low‐level theories using training experiences. This will require them to attend to two very different types of constraints on the modification of our perceptions.

Inclusive pages

25-33

ISBN/ISSN

0951-5089

Comments

Permission documentation is on file.

Publisher

Taylor and Francis

Volume

8

Issue

1

Peer Reviewed

yes

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