Bloomsbury The Philosophy of Perception: Phenomenology and Image Theory

Lambert Wiesing's The Philosophy of Perception challenges current theories of perception. Instead of attempting to understand how a subject perceives the world, Wiesing starts by taking perception to be real. He then asks what this reality means for a subject. In his original approach, the question of how human perception is possible is displaced by questions about what perception obliges us to be and do. He argues that perception requires us to be embodied, to be visible, and to continually participate in the public and physical world we perceive. Only in looking at images, he proposes, can we achieve something like a break in participation, a temporary respite from this, one of perceptions relentless demands. Wiesing's methods chart a markedly new path in contemporary perception theory. In addition to identifying common ground among diverse philosophical positions, he identifies how his own, phenomenological approach differs from those of many other philosophers, past and present. As part of the argument, he provides a succinct but comprehensive survey of the philosophy of images His original critical exposition presents scholars of phenomenology, perception and aesthetics with a new, important understanding of the old phenomenon, the human being in the world. Review With this book, Wiesing has set out an original and extremely provocative suggestion for rethinking perception- and consciousness theory from the beginning. It should be said that it is an enormously stimulating book, rich in ideas, subtle in its argumentation, and sometimes funny as well.  Beyond this it is, with its confident polarisation of theses and its underlying phenomenological orientation, a daring work in the best sense.  [Review of the original German edition]. --Thorsten Streubel, in: Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Philosophie, 2010Wiesing provides a subtle, original, and erudite assessment of the situation in contemporary philosophy of perception, along with a bold proposal for reorienting the field. Written in an inviting styleand nicely translatedthis book reaches out both to phenomenologists and those unfamiliar with what phenomenology has to offer. Wiesing cares deeply about what philosophy is and ought to be, and anyone with similar concerns will find this an engaging read. John Kulvicki, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Dartmouth College, USA Lambert Wiesings The Philosophy of Perception is a revolutionary rethinking of the philosophy of perception and image perception. Employing skilful phenomenology and philosophy without models, Wiesing presents an uncompromising critique of established theories of perception and takes huge strides in a new direction. Embodiment and identity are among the topics transformed by examining the necessary a priori consequences of the reality of perception. The book contains invigorating argument and surprising developments on every page. It should be essential reading for anyone working in the philosophy of images. Dawn Wilson, Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Hull, UK We are creatures of presence; through perception we are surrounded by the given presence of ourselves and our environment. It makes no sense to doubt it.  Wiesing presents the background, implications and justification of this central idea with startling clarity and impressive breadth as well as argumentative stringency; almost as an aside, the reader gets not only brilliant miniatures of the history of theoryfrom perception theory to image theorybut a veritable introduction to phenomenology...at a minimum, Lambert Wiesings book may be read as a new basic theory of the way we understand ourselves as perceiving beings. [Review of the original German edition]. --Jan Urbich, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2009Already in its original German version, Lambert Wiesings The Philosophy of Perception has had an unusually deep and specific impact on contemporary philosophical discussions, both on the analytic and continental sides