RATIONALITY, MORALITY, AND ACTION
Conference in Practical Philosophy and the Philosophy of Action
Central European University
Program of Philosophy and Department of Political Science
21-22 September 2001
Nádor utca 9, Popper Room
Program:
21 September (Friday)
9:30 Opening
9:45 Ferenc Huoranszki (Central European University, Budapest):
"Rationality, Volition, and Action"
Chair: Tim Crane (University College, London)
11:00 Coffee break
11:15 Katalin Farkas (Central European University, Budapest):
"'How does a Thought Act?'"
Chair: David Copp (Bowling Green State University, Ohio)
12:30 Lunch break
14:30 Thomas Pink (King's College, London):
"Two Conceptions of Action"
Chair: Imre Orthmayr (ELTE, Budapest)
22 September (Saturday)
10:00 János Kis (Central European University, Budapest)
"Natural Duties Regarding Institutions"
Chair: Howard Robinson (Central European University, Budapest)
11:15 Coffee break
11:30 Loránd Ambrus-Lakatos (Central European University, Budapest)
"Moral Rules and Moral Aims"
Chair: Ferenc Huoranszki (Central European University, Budapest)
12:45 Lunch break
14:00 David Copp (Bowling Green State University, Ohio)
"Grounding a Modest Conception of Rationality"
Chair: Thomas Pink (King's College, London)
--
Laszlo E. Szabo
Department of Theoretical Physics
Department of History and Philosophy of Science
Eotvos University, Budapest
H-1518 Budapest, Pf. 32, Hungary
Phone/Fax: (36-1)372-2924
Home: (36-1) 200-7318
Mobil/SMS: (36) 20-366-1172
http://hps.elte.hu/~leszabo
Non-member submission from [Csaba PLEH <pleh(a)itm.bme.hu>]
Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 18:33:05 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Csaba PLEH <pleh(a)itm.bme.hu>
To: Multiple recipients of list <koglist(a)cogpsyphy.hu>
Subject: meghivo (fwd)
Csaba Pleh, professor of psychology
Department of Information Management
Technical University of Budapest Budapest Sztoczek u. 2 H-1111
Phone: (361) 4631832, Fax: (361)4631225 email: pleh(a)itm.bme.hu
also at the Department of Psychology, University of Szeged
Home: Budakeszi Zichy P. u. 4 H-2092 Hungary (36)(23)453933 Fax:932
Editor: Hungarian Review of Psychology
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 11:20:39 +100
From: Kovacs Andrea <andrea(a)neur.sote.hu>
To: juditafra(a)hotmail.com, amilona(a)neur.sote.hu, ildiko(a)neur.sote.hu,
degrell(a)psychiatry.dote.hu, dudasr(a)hotmail.com, csaba(a)neur.sote.hu,
marianna(a)neur.sote.hu, eszter.forizs(a)gvm.hu, gkati(a)bghs.hu,
hegyi(a)netsy.szote.u-szeged.hu, janka(a)nepsy.szote.u-szeged.hu,
kalmanj(a)nepsy.szote.u-szeged.hu, anita(a)neur.sote.hu,
vackorh(a)mail.datanet.hu, karmos(a)cogpsyphy.hu, vackorh(a)mail.datanet.hu,
szkeri(a)phys.szote.u-szeged.hu, tibor(a)neur.sote.hu, alvas(a)matavnet.hu,
molnar(a)cogpsyphy.hu, matyi(a)neur.sote.hu, pataky(a)opni.hu,
j.pallos(a)richter.hu, pleh(a)sol.cc.u-szeged.hu, sagi(a)cogpsyphy.hu,
szani(a)neur.sote.hu, szekeres(a)nepsy.szote.u-szeged.hu,
szendi(a)nepsy.szote.u-szeged.hu, szirmai(a)neur.sote.hu,
szombeva(a)neur.sote.hu, annam(a)neur.sote.hu, tar13612(a)helka.iif.hu,
vadasdi(a)neur.sote.hu, vecsey(a)nepsy.szote.u-szeged.hu, bengacs(a)kiwwi.hu,
szijamijau(a)levele.com, czjprof(a)neuro.pote.hu, csiba(a)jaguar.dote.hu,
gertrud(a)neur.sote.hu
Subject: meghivo
Meghivo
A Magyar Ideg- es Elmeorvosok Tarsasaga, a Kognitiv Szekcio es a
Magyar EEG es Klinikai Neurofiziologiai Tarsasag tudomanyos ulesere
2001. szeptember 20-an 14 orakor kerul sor a Semmelweis Egyetem AOK
Neurologiai Klinika tantermeben.
Program:
Roy John MD
(Brain Research Laboratory Dept. of Psychiatry New York University):
"Advances in Physiology of Conscioussness"
Minden erdeklodot szeretettel varunk!
NICOTINE-ADDICTION SYMPOSIUM
The target articles below have been published, as part of an ongoing
workshop on nicotine addiction, in Psycoloquy, a refereed journal of
Open Peer Commentary sponsored by the American Psychological
Association (APA) and indexed in Current Contents and in PsycInfo
(http://www.apa.org/psycinfo/about/covlist.html). Qualified
professional biobehavioral, neural or cognitive scientists are hereby
invited to submit Open Peer Commentary on one or more of these target
articles.
If you are not familiar with the format or acceptance criteria for
Psycoloquy commentaries (all submissions are refereed), please consult
the websites below or email for instructions:
SUBMIT COMMENTARIES TO: psyc(a)pucc.princeton.edu
URLs: http://www.princeton.edu/~harnad/psyc.htmlhttp://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/psyc
TARGET ARTICLES on which commentary is invited:
(1)
Balfour, D. (2001), The Role of Mesolimbic Dopamine in Nicotine
Dependence.
Psycoloquy 12(001)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.001
ABSTRACT: It is now widely accepted that a majority of habitual
tobacco smokers become addicted to the nicotine present in the
smoke. This brief review focuses on the evidence that nicotine
exerts on the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system that are entirely
consistent with it having the properties of a psychostimulant drug
of abuse. Thus, the ability of nicotine to reinforce self-
administration in experimental animals depends upon its ability to
stimulate the DA-secreting neurones which project to the nucleus
accumbens. Microdialysis studies show that acute nicotine
preferentially stimulates DA overflow in the shell of the nucleus
accumbens, whereas subchronic nicotine causes sensitisation of its
stimulatory effects on DA overflow in the core of the structure.
The presentation discusses the evidence that stimulation of DA
overflow in the accumbens shell is required to elicit or, more
likely, signal the 'rewarding' properties of the drug which
reinforce self-administration. Based on the results of studies with
other psychostimulant drugs, it is possible that these effects are
mediated by the D-3 receptors that are found in relatively high
density in the subdivision of the structure. The sensitised effects
of subchronic nicotine in the core of the accumbens are thought to
mediate the transfer from 'drug-liking' to 'drug-seeking' behaviour
and, therefore, to be of fundamental importance to the development
of dependence. The nature of the receptor(s) involved remains to be
established although there is circumstantial evidence for a role of
both D-1 and D-2 receptors. Studies reported in more recent years
have suggested that increased DA overflow in the accumbens is not,
in itself, sufficient to account for the rewarding properties of
addictive drugs. The review concludes by discussing the evidence
that drugs of dependence preferentially increase DA overflow into
an extra-synaptic compartment where it gains access, by a process
of volume transmission, to extra-synaptic DA receptors located on
adjacent cells. These receptors, it is proposed, facilitate the way
in which we learn about cues associated with pleasurable stimuli
and the ways in which the may be experienced again.
(2)
Le Houezec, J. (2001), Non-Dopaminergic Pathways in Nicotine
Dependence.
Psycoloquy 12 (002)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.002
ABSTRACT: There is strong evidence that nicotine exerts its
positive reinforcing effects through the dopaminergic reward
system. However, recent literature has shown that nicotine can
modulate other neurotransmitter systems, mainly through
pre-synaptic cholinergic receptors. This paper focuses on some of
the systems that could participate in the nicotine dependence
process.
(3)
Oscarson, M. (2001), Nicotine Metabolism by the Polymorphic
Cytochrome P450 2A6 (CYP2A6) Enzyme: Implications for
Interindividual Differences in Smoking Behaviour. Psycoloquy 12
(003) http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.003
ABSTRACT: Cytochrome P450 2A6 (CYP2A6) is one of the most important
enzymes in human nicotine metabolism. Genetic polymorphisms in the
CYP2A6 gene causes important interindividual variability in CYP2A6
activity and this variation can explain some of the interindividual
variability in nicotine metabolism previously reported. Here I
summarise the current knowledge about the CYP2A6 polymorphism, and
also discuss the potential importance of this polymorphism for
differences in smoking behaviour.
(4)
Sivilotti, L. (2001), Nicotinic Receptors: Molecular Issues.
Psycoloquy 12 (004)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.004
ABSTRACT: Expression of neuronal nicotinic receptors in Xenopus
oocytes has shown that several different subunit combinations are
functional, with a range of pharmacological and biophysical
properties. In the nervous system, nicotinic receptors are found on
the soma or the presynaptic terminals of neurones: the precise
molecular identification of these receptor subtypes remains a
challenge to pharmacology.
(5)
Smith, G. & Sachse, C. (2001), A Role for CYP2D6 in Nicotine
Metabolism? Psycoloquy 12 (005)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.005
ABSTRACT: Nicotine is known to be metabolised to its major
metabolite cotinine by members of the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase
superfamily. Although CYP2A6 has now been identified as the
principal enzyme which catalyses this biotransformation, CYP2D6 is
also an active nicotine C-oxidase. Some 8% of the Caucasian
population have reduced or absent CYP2A6 activity; CYP2D6 may play
a significant role in nicotine metabolism in these individuals.
CYP2D6 is highly polymorphic - a number of studies linking CYP2D6
genotype to smoking behaviour have now been published. CYP2D6 may
have an important constitutive function in neurotransmitter
metabolism and CYP2D6 genotype is thought to be a critical
determinant in the success of antidepressant drug treatment.
(6)
Wonnacott, S. (2001), Nicotinic Receptors in Relation to Nicotine
Addiction.
Psycoloquy 12 (006)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.006
ABSTRACT: The first step in processing nicotine's effects on the
brain is the drug's interaction with neuronal nicotinic receptors
(nAChR). The diversity of nAChR subtypes, their various modes of
response (activation, desensitisation, prolonged inactivation), and
the complex pharmacokinetics of nicotine delivery conspire to make
this a complex issue that is difficult to unravel. The alpha4beta2
nAChR subtype has the highest affinity for nicotine and is the
primary candidate for mediating nicotine's central effects. Chronic
nicotine exposure (in both humans, animals and cell culture
systems) leads to an increase in numbers of alpha4beta2 nAChR
(upregulation), with functional implications for withdrawal.
However, there is little evidence presently that nAChR upregulation
is pertinent to the induction or maintenance of dependence.
However, the particular characteristics of the alpha7 subtype of
nAChR suggest that it may participate in long term changes in
synaptic efficacy that could be relevant to nicotine dependence.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below is a list of other recently published PSYCOLOQUY target articles
that are also currently undergoing Open Peer Commentary. Commentary is
invited on these articles too:
INDIVIDUAL TARGET ARTICLES:
Navon, D. (2001), The Puzzle of Mirror Reversal: A View From
Clockland. Psycoloquy 12 (017)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.017
Kramer, D. & Moore, M. (2001), Gender Roles, Romantic Fiction and
Family Therapy. Psycoloquy 12 (024)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.024
Sherman, J. A. (2001), Evolutionary Origin of Bipolar Disorder
(EOBD). Psycoloquy 12 (028)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.028
Overgaard, M. (2001), The Role of Phenomenological Reports in
Experiments on Consciousness. Psycoloquy 12 (029)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.029
Crow, T. J. (2000) Did Homo Sapiens Speciate on the Y Chromosome?
Psycoloquy 11 (001)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?11.001
Margolis, H. (2000) Wason's Selection Task with A Reduced Array
Psycoloquy 11 (005)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?11.005
Place, U. T. (2000) The Role of the Hand in the Evolution of
Language Psycoloquy 11 (007)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?11.007
Green, C. D. (2000) Is AI the Right Method for Cognitive Science?
Psycoloquy 11 (061)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?11.061
Reifman, A. (2000) Revisiting the Bell Curve Psycoloquy 11 (099)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?11.099
MULTIPLE BOOK REVIEWS:
Ben-Ze'ev, A. (2001), The Subtlety of Emotions. Psycoloquy 12
(007) http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.007
Miller, G. F. (2001), The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped
the Evolution of Human Nature. Psycoloquy 12 (008)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.008
Zachar, P. (2001), Psychological Concepts and Biological
Psychiatry: A Philosophical Analysis. Psycoloquy 12 (023)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.023
Bolton, D. & Hill, J. (2001), Mind, Meaning & Mental Disorder: The
Nature of Causal Explanation in Psychology & Psychiatry.
Psycoloquy 12 (018)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.018
Praetorius, N. (2001), Principles of Cognition, Language and
Action: Essays on the Foundations of a Science of Psychology.
Psycoloquy 12 (027)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?12.027
Carstairs-McCarthy, A. (2000) The Origins of Complex Language
Psycoloquy 11 (082)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?11.082
Storfer, M. D. (2000) Myopia, Intelligence, and the Expanding Human
Neocortex Psycoloquy 11 (083)
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?11.083
Tenopir, C. & King, D. W. (2000) Towards Electronic Journals:
Realities for Scientists, Librarians, and Publishers Psycoloquy 11
(084) http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?11.084
Sheets-Johnston, M. (2000) The Primacy of Movement Psycoloquy 11
(098) http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?11.098
SUBMIT COMMENTARIES TO: psyc(a)pucc.princeton.edu
URLs: http://www.princeton.edu/~harnad/psyc.htmlhttp://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/psyc
Job Advertisement
University College London
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH SCIENTIST
(FULL TIME)
Centre for Developmental Language Disorders
and Cognitive Neuroscience,
Department of Human Communication Science
A full time postdoctoral research scientist position is available from
February, 2001 at the new Centre for Developmental Language Disorders and
Cognitive Neuroscience.
The post holder will be asked to lead a component of an overall research
programme funded by the Wellcome Trust on the cognitive function and
structure of sentence processing in children with SLI and children
developing normally. The exact nature of the experiments will partly depend
on the research expertise of the successful applicant; it could involve
high-density ERP recordings, and/or psycholinguistic investigations of
sentence processing to elucidate the development of specialised cognitive
functions, such as grammar/the relations between grammar and semantics and,
generally, the underlying nature of SLI. The ERP investigations will be
carried out in collaboration with Profs Angela Frederici (MPI for Cognitive
Neuroscience, Leipzig), Mark Johnson, and Gergely Csibra (Centre for Brain
and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College) in whose centres training and
support will be provided. Closing date: 12th October, 2001. Interviews
October/November. Informal inquiries: Prof. Heather van der Lely
(h.vanderlely(a)ucl.ac.uk). Please send CV, names and addresses of two
referees and samples of published work (e.g., 1-2 papers) to: Centre for
Developmental Language Disorders and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dept of Human
Communication Science, UCL, Chandler House, 2 Wakefield Street, London, WC1N
1PF, UK. Full details are available at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/DLDCN
Below is the abstract of a forthcoming BBS target article
EMPATHY: ITS ULTIMATE AND PROXIMATE BASES
by S.D. Preston & F. B. M. de Waal
http://www.bbsonline.org/Preprints/Preston/
or
http://www.bbsonline.org/Preprints/Preston/Preston.pdf
Please reply to: calls(a)bbsonline.org
This article has been accepted for publication in Behavioral and Brain
Sciences (BBS), an international, interdisciplinary journal providing
Open Peer Commentary on important and controversial current research in
the biobehavioral and cognitive sciences.
Commentators must be BBS Associates or nominated by a BBS Associate. To
be considered as a commentator for this article, to suggest other
appropriate commentators, or for information about how to become a BBS
Associate, please reply by EMAIL within three (3) weeks to:
calls(a)bbsonline.org
If you are not a BBS Associate, please approach a current BBS
Associate (there are currently over 10,000 worldwide) who is familiar
with your work to nominate you. All past BBS authors, referees and
commentators are eligible to become BBS Associates. A full electronic
list of current BBS Associates is available at this location to help
you select a name:
http://www.bbsonline.org/Instructions/assoclist.html
If no current BBS Associate knows your work, please send us your
Curriculum Vitae and BBS will circulate it to appropriate Associates to
ask whether they would be prepared to nominate you. (In the meantime,
your name, address and email address will be entered into our database
as an unaffiliated investigator.)
To help us put together a balanced list of commentators, please give
some indication of the aspects of the topic on which you would bring
your areas of expertise to bear if you were selected as a commentator.
To help you decide whether you would be an appropriate commentator for
this article, an electronic draft is retrievable from the online
BBSPrints Archive, at the URL that follows the abstract below.
_____________________________________________________________
Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases
Stephanie D. Preston
Department of Psychology
3210 Tolman Hall #1650
University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1650
USA
spreston(a)socrates.berkeley.edu
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~spreston
Frans B. M. de Waal
Living Links,
Yerkes Primate Center and Psychology Department,
Emory University,
Atlanta, GA 30322
USA
dewaal(a)rmy.emory.edu
http://www.emory.edu/LIVING_LINKS/
KEYWORDS:
altruism; cognitive empathy; comparative; emotion;
emotional contagion; empathy; evolution; human; perception-action;
perspective taking;
ABSTRACT:
There is disagreement in the literature about the exact nature of the
phenomenon of empathy. There are emotional, cognitive, and conditioning
views, applying in varying degrees across species. An adequate description
of the ultimate and proximate mechanism can integrate these views.
Proximately, the perception of an object's state activates the subject's
corresponding representations, which in turn activate somatic and
autonomic responses. This mechanism supports basic behaviors (e.g., alarm,
social facilitation, vicariousness of emotions, mother-infant
responsiveness, and the modeling of competitors and predators) that are
crucial for the reproductive success of animals living in groups. The
"Perception-Action Model" (PAM) together with an understanding of how
representations change with experience can explain the major empirical
effects in the literature (similarity, familiarity, past experience,
explicit teaching and salience). It can also predict a variety of empathy
disorders. The interaction between the PAM and prefrontal functioning can
also explain different levels of empathy across species and age groups.
This view can advance our evolutionary understanding of empathy beyond
inclusive fitness and reciprocal altruism and can explain different levels
of empathy across individuals, species, stages of development, and
situations.
http://www.bbsonline.org/Preprints/Preston/
or
http://www.bbsonline.org/Preprints/Preston/Preston.pdf
___________________________________________________________
Please do not prepare a commentary yet. Just let us know, after having
inspected it, what relevant expertise you feel you would bring to bear
on what aspect of the article. We will then let you know whether it was
possible to include your name on the final formal list of invitees.
_______________________________________________________________________
*** SUPPLEMENTARY ANNOUNCEMENTS ***
(1) The authors of scientific articles are not paid money for their
refereed research papers; they give them away. What they want is to
reach all interested researchers worldwide, so as to maximize the
potential research impact of their findings.
Subscription/Site-License/Pay-Per-View costs are accordingly
access-barriers, and hence impact-barriers for this give-away
research literature.
There is now a way to free the entire refereed journal literature,
for everyone, everywhere, immediately, by mounting interoperable
university eprint archives, and self-archiving all refereed research
papers in them.
Please see: http://www.eprints.orghttp://www.openarchives.org/http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/~harnad/Tp/nature4.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) All authors in the biobehavioral and cognitive sciences are
strongly encouraged to self-archive all their papers in their own
institution's Eprint Archives or in CogPrints, the Eprint Archive
for the biobehavioral and cognitive sciences:
http://cogprints.soton.ac.uk/
It is extremely simple to self-archive and will make all of our
papers available to all of us everywhere, at no cost to anyone,
forever.
Authors of BBS papers wishing to archive their already published
BBS Target Articles should submit it to BBSPrints Archive.
Information about the archiving of BBS' entire backcatalogue will
be sent to you in the near future. Meantime please see:
http://www.bbsonline.org/help/
and
http://www.bbsonline.org/Instructions/
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) Call for Book Nominations for BBS Multiple Book Review
In the past, Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) had only been able
to do 1-2 BBS multiple book treatments per year, because of our
limited annual page quota. BBS's new expanded page quota will make
it possible for us to increase the number of books we treat per
year, so this is an excellent time for BBS Associates and
biobehavioral/cognitive scientists in general to nominate books you
would like to see accorded BBS multiple book review.
(Authors may self-nominate, but books can only be selected on the
basis of multiple nominations.) It would be very helpful if you
indicated in what way a BBS Multiple Book Review of the book(s) you
nominate would be useful to the field (and of course a rich list of
potential reviewers would be the best evidence of its potential
impact!).
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Below is the abstract of a forthcoming BBS target article
Please reply to: calls(a)bbsonline.org
Two Visual Systems and Two Theories of Perception:
An Attempt to Reconcile the Constructivist and Ecological Approaches
by Joel Norman
http://www.bbsonline.org/Preprints/Norman/http://psy.haifa.ac.il/~maga/tvs&ttp.pdf
This article has been accepted for publication in Behavioral and Brain
Sciences (BBS), an international, interdisciplinary journal providing
Open Peer Commentary on important and controversial current research in
the biobehavioral and cognitive sciences.
Commentators must be BBS Associates or nominated by a BBS Associate. To
be considered as a commentator for this article, to suggest other
appropriate commentators, or for information about how to become a BBS
Associate, please reply by EMAIL within three (3) weeks to:
calls(a)bbsonline.org
If you are not a BBS Associate, please approach a current BBS
Associate (there are currently over 10,000 worldwide) who is familiar
with your work to nominate you. All past BBS authors, referees and
commentators are eligible to become BBS Associates. A full electronic
list of current BBS Associates is available at this location to help
you select a name:
http://www.bbsonline.org/Instructions/assoclist.html
If no current BBS Associate knows your work, please send us your
Curriculum Vitae and BBS will circulate it to appropriate Associates to
ask whether they would be prepared to nominate you. (In the meantime,
your name, address and email address will be entered into our database
as an unaffiliated investigator.)
To help us put together a balanced list of commentators, please give
some indication of the aspects of the topic on which you would bring
your areas of expertise to bear if you were selected as a commentator.
To help you decide whether you would be an appropriate commentator for
this article, an electronic draft is retrievable from the online
BBSPrints Archive, at the URL that follows the abstract below.
_____________________________________________________________
Two Visual Systems and Two Theories of Perception:
An Attempt to Reconcile the Constructivist and Ecological Approaches
Joel Norman
Department of Psychology
University of Haifa
Haifa, Israel
jnorman(a)psy.haifa.ac.il
KEYWORDS: Visual perception theories, ecological, constructivist,
two visual systems, space perception, size perception,
dual-process approach
ABSTRACT: The two contrasting theoretical approaches to visual
perception, the constructivist and the ecological, are briefly
presented and illustrated through their analyses of space perception
and size perception. Earlier calls for their reconciliation and
unification are reviewed. Neurophysiological, neuropsychological, and
psychophysical evidence for the existence of two quite distinct visual
systems, the ventral and the dorsal, is presented. These two
perceptual systems differ in their functions; the ventral system^Rs
central function is that of identification, while the dorsal system is
mainly engaged in the visual control of motor behavior. The strong
parallels between the ecological approach and the functioning of the
dorsal system and between the constructivist approach and the
functioning of the ventral system are noted. It is also shown that the
experimental paradigms used by the proponents of these two approaches
match the functions of the respective visual systems. A dual-process
approach to visual perception emerges from this analysis, with the
ecological-dorsal process transpiring mainly without conscious
awareness, while the constructivist-ventral process is normally
conscious. Some implications of this dual-process approach to
visual-perceptual phenomena are presented, with emphasis on space
perception.
http://www.bbsonline.org/Preprints/Norman/http://psy.haifa.ac.il/~maga/tvs&ttp.pdf
___________________________________________________________
Please do not prepare a commentary yet. Just let us know, after having
inspected it, what relevant expertise you feel you would bring to bear
on what aspect of the article. We will then let you know whether it was
possible to include your name on the final formal list of invitees.
_______________________________________________________________________
*** SUPPLEMENTARY ANNOUNCEMENTS ***
(1) The authors of scientific articles are not paid money for their
refereed research papers; they give them away. What they want is to
reach all interested researchers worldwide, so as to maximize the
potential research impact of their findings.
Subscription/Site-License/Pay-Per-View costs are accordingly
access-barriers, and hence impact-barriers for this give-away
research literature.
There is now a way to free the entire refereed journal literature,
for everyone, everywhere, immediately, by mounting interoperable
university eprint archives, and self-archiving all refereed research
papers in them.
Please see: http://www.eprints.orghttp://www.openarchives.org/http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/~harnad/Tp/nature4.htm
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(2) All authors in the biobehavioral and cognitive sciences are
strongly encouraged to self-archive all their papers in their own
institution's Eprint Archives or in CogPrints, the Eprint Archive
for the biobehavioral and cognitive sciences:
http://cogprints.soton.ac.uk/
It is extremely simple to self-archive and will make all of our
papers available to all of us everywhere, at no cost to anyone,
forever.
Authors of BBS papers wishing to archive their already published
BBS Target Articles should submit it to BBSPrints Archive.
Information about the archiving of BBS' entire backcatalogue will
be sent to you in the near future. Meantime please see:
http://www.bbsonline.org/help/
and
http://www.bbsonline.org/Instructions/
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(3) Call for Book Nominations for BBS Multiple Book Review
In the past, Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) had only been able
to do 1-2 BBS multiple book treatments per year, because of our
limited annual page quota. BBS's new expanded page quota will make
it possible for us to increase the number of books we treat per
year, so this is an excellent time for BBS Associates and
biobehavioral/cognitive scientists in general to nominate books you
would like to see accorded BBS multiple book review.
(Authors may self-nominate, but books can only be selected on the
basis of multiple nominations.) It would be very helpful if you
indicated in what way a BBS Multiple Book Review of the book(s) you
nominate would be useful to the field (and of course a rich list of
potential reviewers would be the best evidence of its potential
impact!).
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