IN THE EYE'S MIND Vision and the Helmholtz-Hering Controversy

TURNER, R. Steven

ISBN 10: 0691033978 / ISBN 13: 9780691033976

Published by Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1994

About this Item

f/piece+xiv+338, 29 text figs; near pristine copy with review request slipped in, only, very minor, flaws: a few creases to top of front jacket wraparound and very small crease top jacket front corner of spine. Will add protective sleeve to jacket when ordered. An excellent copy of this sphisticated in-depth monograph on the famous controversy over the physiological process of colour perception, which itself raised interesting theoretical implications. Note: quoted shipping rates are calculated for 500-700 gram net weight, cost will be modified up or down as appropriate outside this range. Size: 16 Cms x 24 Cms. Seller Inventory # 008494

Bibliographic Details

Title: IN THE EYE'S MIND Vision and the ...

Publisher: Princeton University Press, Princeton

Publication Date: 1994

Binding: Black Cloth

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

Edition: 1st ed.

About this title

Synopsis:

One of the most persistent controversies of modern science has dealt with human visual perception. It erupted in Germany during the 1860s as a dispute between physiologists Hermann von Helmholtz, Ewald Hering and their schools. Well into the 20th century, these groups warred over the origins of our capacity to perceive space, over the retinal mechanisms that mediate colour sensations, and over the role of mind, experience and inference in vision. This study explores the impassioned exchanges of those rival schools, both to illuminate the clash of theory and to explore the larger role of controversy in the development of science. It focuses on the arguments and issues of the dispute, issues that ranged from the interpretation of colour blindness and optical illusions to the therapeutic practices of clinical ophthalmology. As well, it describes the personalities, institutions, disciplinary structures, and methodological commitments that shaped the dispute, including the schools' rhetorical strategies.

Review:

"Turner has clearly done his homework and--unlike many people who write on the history of colour vision--has read the original texts. He understands the issues and the methods used in studying them, and does an excellent job of defining the jargon of the era, which is often comprehensible only in context."--Nature