What do we see? We are visually conscious of colors and shapes, but are we also visually conscious of complex properties such as being John Malkovich? In this book, Susanna Siegel develops a framework for understanding the contents of visual experience, and argues that these contents involve all sorts of complex properties. Siegel starts by analyzing the notion of the contents of experience, and by arguing that theorists of all stripes should accept that experiences have contents. She then introduces a method for discovering the contents of experience: the method of phenomenal contrast. This method relies only minimally on introspection, and allows rigorous support for claims about experience. She then applies the method to make the case that we are conscious of many kinds of properties, of all sorts of causal properties, and of many other complex properties. She goes on to use the method to help analyze difficult questions about our consciousness of objects and their role in the contents of experience, and to reconceptualize the distinction between perception and sensation. Siegel's results are important for many areas of philosophy, including the philosophy of mind, epistemology, and the philosophy of science. They are also important for the psychology and cognitive neuroscience of vision.

About the Author
Susanna Siegel received her PhD in Philosophy at Cornell University in 2000. She was previously John L Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University, and is currently Professor of Philosophy and an affiliate of the Program in Mind, Brain and Behavior at Harvard University.

Reviews
This is a clearly argued book that is well worth careful study. * Heather Logue, Mind *
This is an impressive book. It is rich in powerful and thought-provoking arguments, stimulating ideas, astute observations and instructive examples. * Barry Maund, Analysis *
this is a clearly argued book that is well worth careful study. Siegel offers us a way to get a handle on questions about visual content - the method of phenomenal contrast - that is considerably more promising than methods that have been hitherto employed. * Heather Logue, Mind *



Book Information
ISBN 9780195305296
Author Susanna Siegel
Format Hardback
Page Count 232
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 417g
Dimensions(mm) 147mm * 213mm * 25mm