Reconsidering the role of imagery in perception.

What is it about?

How much of what we see is just imagined? Suppose you are looking at a cat that is standing behind a chain-link fence. You see the cat. But what about the parts of the cat that are hidden behind the fence? You don't experience a bunch of disconnected cat-fragments; you see a whole, connected cat. Some thinkers argue that we *perceive* the visible parts of the cat and *imagine* the hidden parts. In fact, they claim that, in general, our perceptual experiences are a mixture of perception and mental imagery. This view is a natural consequence of some standard ways of defining "mental imagery." This paper critically examines the view, arguing that mental imagery does not have such a pervasive role in our perceptual experiences. This means that our standard ways of defining "mental imagery" must be re-evaluated as well.

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Photo by Jevgeni Fil on Unsplash

Photo by Jevgeni Fil on Unsplash

Why is it important?

We highlight the important differences between seeing and imagining. Understanding those differences is important for scientific investigation into the relationship between the two. It is also important for how we understand ourselves and how we can acquire knowledge about the world. For if our perceptual experiences are regularly suffused with imagination, then why should we trust our perceptual experiences at all?