Here are the details for the next USyd Postgrad Work in Progress talk: Speaker: Andrew McGuiness
Title: Perception of sound and the specious present The notion of the experienced present (sometimes referred to as the 'specious' present) has received a great deal of attention from philosophers. Discussion of the specious present has largely centered around perception and particularly on sound, since each sound exhibits specific temporal properties. The central problem of the specious present can be stated thus: How can we have experiences of motion, or of succession, in any one instant (during which neither motion nor succession can actually occur)? I approach the issue primarily from the perspective of a musician. First, I identify a cluster of properties of experience which are associated with the specious present. Among these is the formation of discrete 'temporal objects', as noted by Husserl and largely ignored by others. I also argue that temporal relations such as succession and order are directly perceived. Second, I briefly suggest cognitive science explanations for some of the properties of experience identified as associated with the specious present. In doing so, I extend the concept of directly perceiving relations, and provide a recent brain imaging example from the literature which identifies a brain response to the direction of pitch change. I take issue with Grush's (2005) notion of a 'moving window emulator,' on the grounds that it fails to account for the perceptual construction of discrete temporal objects. I argue for a two-layered conception of the perception of temporal properties. One level concerns motion and sequences of events within short time scales (hundreds of milliseconds): this is the level at which discrete temporal objects are constructed. The second level concerns relations between the successive temporal objects which have been constructed by the perceptual process at work in the first layer. Time: 4:30pm, Mon Oct 14 Location: S401, Main Quad, University of Sydney Hope to see you all there, Simon Varey Postgraduate Colloquium Co-ordinator
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