Perception

Sense perception is the use of our senses to acquire information about the world around us and to become acquainted with objects, events, and their features. Traditionally, there are taken to be five senses: sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste. Philosophical debate about perception is ancient. Much debate focuses on the contrast between appearance and reality. We can misperceive objects and be misled about their nature, as well as perceive them to be the way that they are: you could misperceive the shape of the page before you, for example. Also, on occasion, it may seem to us as if we are perceiving, when we do not perceive at all, but only suffer hallucinations. Illusions and hallucinations present problems for a theory of knowledge: if our senses can mislead us, how are we to know that things are as they appear, unless we already know that our senses are presenting things as they are? But the concern in the study of perception is primarily to explain how we can both perceive and misperceive how things are in the world around us. Some philosophers have answered this by supposing that our perception of material objects is mediated by an awareness of mind-dependent entities or qualities: typically called sense-data, ideas or impressions. These intermediaries allegedly act as surrogates or representatives for external objects: when they represent aright, we perceive; when they mislead, we misperceive. An alternative is to suppose that perceiving is analogous to belief or judgment: just as judgment or belief can be true or false, so states of being appeared to may be correct or incorrect. This approach seeks to avoid intermediary objects between the perceiver and the external objects of perception, while still taking proper account of the possibility of illusion and hallucination. Both responses contrast with that of philosophers who deny that illusions and hallucinations have anything to tell us about the nature of perceiving proper, and hold to a form of naïve, or direct, realism. The account of perception one favours has a bearing on one’s views of other aspects of the mind and world: the nature and existence of secondary qualities, such as colours and tastes; the possibility of giving an account of the mind as part of a purely physical, natural world; how one should answer scepticism concerning our knowledge of the external world.

Totem

This chapter argues that the things we call commodities are like the totems of ancient times—a system of classification via intermediary objects—and that a society, in producing and exchanging things, simply reproduces itself symbolically. It begins with the observation that there exists an uninhibited and forbidden love for things—something that Charles de Brosses has called fetishism. It then considers the symptoms of this secular discomfort with things and the forms it takes by focusing on what Augustine has identified as two possible relationships to the objects that surround us: loving enjoyment and instrumental use. It also explains how this unease relates to commodities and how thinking about commodities amounts to thinking about the good in/of things—and, vice versa. Finally, it describes three spheres in which we experience our love for things, and in which free will and necessity are inextricably intertwined: art, manufacturing, and commerce.

From the Social Shaping of Technology to the Staging of Temporary Spaces of Innovation − A Case of Participatory Innovation

This paper addresses recent developments within the social shaping perspective, specifically the forward-looking and political dimensions of intervening in processes of innovation. With a focus on the concept of ‘temporary spaces’ as an analytical framework we present a study of a case on participatory innovation concerned with indoor climate practices in the building sector. Based on an analysis of the travel and uptake of narratives derived from fi eld studies in industrial and research environments, we discuss the role of intermediaries such as ethnographic provocations concerning user practices in the staging of these temporary spaces. While the direct uptake of qualitative knowledge on user practice in the engineering worlds of indoor climate is limited, the paper highlights the role of staging temporary spaces and intermediary objects in collaboration with stakeholders as a way of reframing conceptions of indoor climate practices.

Forensic Engineering Analysis of Ejected Cartridge Case Patterns for the Reconstruction of Firearms-Related Incidents

Firearms-related incidents present an important area of study for forensic engineers. Analysis of bullet trajectories, examination of firearms failures, and the study of wound dynamics and projectile injuries are some of the topics to which the forensic engineer can offer valuable knowledge and insight for the purpose of reconstructing a shooting incident in a forensic context. One specific topic of study that forensic engineers engaging in the reconstruction of firearms-related incidents should clearly understand is the nature and distribution of ejected cartridge case patterns left at a crime scene after the discharge of semi-automatic firearms. While studies have been conducted into the effects that firearm design, ammunition, grip, stance, and movement have on the distribution of ejected cartridge cases, few, if any, of these studies have involved any type of engineering analysis. This paper will address the nature of engineering analysis applicable to the distribution of ejected cartridge cases at a crime scene by specifically addressing mechanical issues related to the design and maintenance of the firearm itself, the flight characteristics of ejected cartridge cases, and the restitution of cartridge cases that collide with intermediary objects. Experimental results will be presented, and testing methodologies will be discussed. Methods for simulating cartridge case ejection patterns based on testing data using Monte Carlo methods will be covered. Application of testing data and simulation to actual casework will be demonstrated.

Digitising the Middle Ages: The experience of the ‘Lands of the Normans’ project

A year-long project to investigate the use of digital technologies in prosopographical research resulted in the creation of intermediary objects (called ‘factoids’) within the database to model the multiple relationships possible among elite medieval landholders. These factoids facilitated a modular approach to database development, whereas a Virtual Research Environment (VRE) allowed flexible and speedy data entry. GIS provided a mapping function via Web Map Services.