Perception: First Form of Mind

Tyler Burge's "Perception: First Form of Mind" explores the primitive type of mental representation: perception, focusing on its functions, capacities, and representational content and structure. It discusses the role of iconic format in the structure and situates the accounts within scientific explanations of perceptual-state formation. The second half explores the nature of a perceptual system, distinguishing it from thinking. Drawing mainly on vision science, the book is a rigorous and agenda-setting work in philosophy of perception and philosophy of science.

Format: Hardback
Length: 896 pages
Publication date: 13 May 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

In his groundbreaking work "Perception: First Form of Mind," Tyler Burge delves into the realm of the most fundamental form of mental representation: perception. Through meticulous exploration, Burge elucidates the functions and capabilities of perceptual states, accounting for their representational content and structure. He also develops a formal semantics for these states, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding their meaning.

The discussion in the book sheds light on the crucial role of iconic format in shaping the structure of perceptual experiences. It further situates the accounts of content, structure, and semantics within the broader context of scientific explanations of perceptual-state formation. Burge emphasizes the formation of perceptual categorization as a central aspect of this process.

In the second half of the book, Burge delves into the definition of a perceptual system. By examining the relationships between perception and other primitive capacities such as conation, attention, memory, anticipation, affect, learning, and imagining, he distinguishes perceiving from thinking and highlights the unique characteristics associated with each. Drawing primarily from vision science, rather than introspection, "Perception: First Form of Mind" emerges as a rigorous and agenda-setting work in the fields of philosophy of perception and philosophy of science.

This profound exploration of the nature of perception offers valuable insights into the complex interplay between the mind and the world, challenging our understanding of consciousness, perception, and the fundamental nature of reality.

Weight: 1818g
Dimension: 252 x 175 x 50 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198871002