A. Mark Smith
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226174761
- eISBN:
- 9780226174938
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226174938.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Until quite recently, the history of optics has been treated as the history of light-theory. As it developed from antiquity, however, the science of optics was aimed primarily at explaining not light ...
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Until quite recently, the history of optics has been treated as the history of light-theory. As it developed from antiquity, however, the science of optics was aimed primarily at explaining not light and its physical manifestations, but sight in all its aspects from physical and physiological causes to perceptual and cognitive effects. And so it remained until the seventeenth century, when the analytic focus of optics shifted rather suddenly, and definitively, from sight to light. This shift marks the turn from ancient toward modern optics alluded to in the title of this book. Why this particular turn at this particular time? In response to this question the book argues that Johannes Kepler’s theory of retinal imaging, which was published in 1604, was instrumental in prompting the turn, as well as in giving it direction and shape. It is, moreover, as a reaction against tradition and a major step toward undermining it, that Kepler’s new theory of sight takes on true historical significance. It is also in this respect that, by treating the eye as a mere light-focusing device rather than an image-producing instrument (as traditionally understood), his account of retinal imaging helped spur the shift in analytic focus that marked the turn toward modern optics. This turn also entailed a more profound transformation of worldview, grounded in deep skepticism about whether objective reality is anything like the visually-based mental images of it supposedly produced by the pre-Keplerian eye and brain.Less
Until quite recently, the history of optics has been treated as the history of light-theory. As it developed from antiquity, however, the science of optics was aimed primarily at explaining not light and its physical manifestations, but sight in all its aspects from physical and physiological causes to perceptual and cognitive effects. And so it remained until the seventeenth century, when the analytic focus of optics shifted rather suddenly, and definitively, from sight to light. This shift marks the turn from ancient toward modern optics alluded to in the title of this book. Why this particular turn at this particular time? In response to this question the book argues that Johannes Kepler’s theory of retinal imaging, which was published in 1604, was instrumental in prompting the turn, as well as in giving it direction and shape. It is, moreover, as a reaction against tradition and a major step toward undermining it, that Kepler’s new theory of sight takes on true historical significance. It is also in this respect that, by treating the eye as a mere light-focusing device rather than an image-producing instrument (as traditionally understood), his account of retinal imaging helped spur the shift in analytic focus that marked the turn toward modern optics. This turn also entailed a more profound transformation of worldview, grounded in deep skepticism about whether objective reality is anything like the visually-based mental images of it supposedly produced by the pre-Keplerian eye and brain.
Rhonda Taube and Karl Taube
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813033303
- eISBN:
- 9780813039350
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813033303.003.0009
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
While the notion of aesthetics in European philosophy accounts for a branch of metaphysics that encompasses the laws of refined visual taste, these are comparable to Maya notions of visually pleasing ...
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While the notion of aesthetics in European philosophy accounts for a branch of metaphysics that encompasses the laws of refined visual taste, these are comparable to Maya notions of visually pleasing things as seen in the Classic period. The Maya concept of aesthetics gives fundamental attention to how their figurines are interpreted. Utilizing a visual paradigm in small-scale art works is appropriate for examining Maya notions of representation since this would entail diverse associated ideas and meanings. While sight is recognized as a tangible phenomenon among the Pre-Classic Maya, the Maya “gaze” is still perceived to be a concrete experience. The ruler's being in Classic Maya is an expression of a physical ideal, flawless beauty, youthfulness, elegant gestures, control, and nobility.Less
While the notion of aesthetics in European philosophy accounts for a branch of metaphysics that encompasses the laws of refined visual taste, these are comparable to Maya notions of visually pleasing things as seen in the Classic period. The Maya concept of aesthetics gives fundamental attention to how their figurines are interpreted. Utilizing a visual paradigm in small-scale art works is appropriate for examining Maya notions of representation since this would entail diverse associated ideas and meanings. While sight is recognized as a tangible phenomenon among the Pre-Classic Maya, the Maya “gaze” is still perceived to be a concrete experience. The ruler's being in Classic Maya is an expression of a physical ideal, flawless beauty, youthfulness, elegant gestures, control, and nobility.
Edward A. Gibson and Neal J. Pearlmutter (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262015127
- eISBN:
- 9780262295888
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262015127.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
This book brings together contributions by prominent researchers in the fields of language processing and language acquisition on topics of common interest: how people refer to objects in the world, ...
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This book brings together contributions by prominent researchers in the fields of language processing and language acquisition on topics of common interest: how people refer to objects in the world, how people comprehend such referential expressions, and how children acquire the ability to refer and to understand reference. The chapters first discuss issues related to children’s acquisition and processing of reference, then consider evidence of adults’ processing of reference from eye-tracking methods (the visual-world paradigm) and from corpora and reading experiments. They go on to discuss such topics as how children resolve ambiguity, children’s difficulty in understanding coreference, the use of eye movements to physical objects to measure the accessibility of different referents, the uses of probabilistic and pragmatic information in language comprehension, antecedent accessibility and salience in reference, and neuropsychological data from the event-related potential recording literature.Less
This book brings together contributions by prominent researchers in the fields of language processing and language acquisition on topics of common interest: how people refer to objects in the world, how people comprehend such referential expressions, and how children acquire the ability to refer and to understand reference. The chapters first discuss issues related to children’s acquisition and processing of reference, then consider evidence of adults’ processing of reference from eye-tracking methods (the visual-world paradigm) and from corpora and reading experiments. They go on to discuss such topics as how children resolve ambiguity, children’s difficulty in understanding coreference, the use of eye movements to physical objects to measure the accessibility of different referents, the uses of probabilistic and pragmatic information in language comprehension, antecedent accessibility and salience in reference, and neuropsychological data from the event-related potential recording literature.
A. Mark Smith
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226174761
- eISBN:
- 9780226174938
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226174938.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
After setting out the basic historiographical context for the study that follows, this chapter provides a brief account of the book’s overall thesis, which emphasizes the sharp contrast between ...
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After setting out the basic historiographical context for the study that follows, this chapter provides a brief account of the book’s overall thesis, which emphasizes the sharp contrast between pre-Keplerian and post-Keplerian optics. That contrast, it is argued, lies in a fundamental difference in analytic focus. Pre-Keplerian optics was driven by the need to explain precisely how vision can yield a faithful mental picture of objective reality. Its ulterior focus was therefore on cognition-theory rather than light-theory. In post-Keplerian optics, on the other hand, the analytic focus was reversed, its primary aim now being to explain the physics of light rather than the epistemology of sight. The chapter ends with a fairly brief account of the sources and methods upon which the study unfolding in the succeeding eight chapters is based.Less
After setting out the basic historiographical context for the study that follows, this chapter provides a brief account of the book’s overall thesis, which emphasizes the sharp contrast between pre-Keplerian and post-Keplerian optics. That contrast, it is argued, lies in a fundamental difference in analytic focus. Pre-Keplerian optics was driven by the need to explain precisely how vision can yield a faithful mental picture of objective reality. Its ulterior focus was therefore on cognition-theory rather than light-theory. In post-Keplerian optics, on the other hand, the analytic focus was reversed, its primary aim now being to explain the physics of light rather than the epistemology of sight. The chapter ends with a fairly brief account of the sources and methods upon which the study unfolding in the succeeding eight chapters is based.
Natalie M. Klein, Greg N. Carlson, Renjie Li, T. Florian Jaeger, and Michael K. Tanenhaus
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199654277
- eISBN:
- 9780191746048
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654277.003.0014
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
Unlike English nouns, Mandarin nouns do not syntactically reflect the mass/count distinction, but are akin to English mass nouns (e.g. water) in that they refer to unindividuated pluralities. Thus ...
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Unlike English nouns, Mandarin nouns do not syntactically reflect the mass/count distinction, but are akin to English mass nouns (e.g. water) in that they refer to unindividuated pluralities. Thus speakers must use classifiers after numerals and demonstratives to semantically partition all nouns: count concepts must be counted with a classifier (一架钢琴, one FRAME piano) the way English mass nouns are (one GLASS OF water). While an ontological distinction is not apparent in Chinese nouns, some have argued that this information might be encoded at the classifier level and that classifiers might play a functional role similar to that of gender-marked determiners. In order to better understand the role massifiers and classifiers play in language comprehension, three visual world experiments were conducted. Phonological cohort competition and anticipatory eye-movements were examined in cases of English mass reference, Chinese count reference, and Chinese mass reference. Results suggest that classifiers are interpreted structurally and have an immediate impact on referential selection, and this effect is potentially stronger with massifiers and mass referents.Less
Unlike English nouns, Mandarin nouns do not syntactically reflect the mass/count distinction, but are akin to English mass nouns (e.g. water) in that they refer to unindividuated pluralities. Thus speakers must use classifiers after numerals and demonstratives to semantically partition all nouns: count concepts must be counted with a classifier (一架钢琴, one FRAME piano) the way English mass nouns are (one GLASS OF water). While an ontological distinction is not apparent in Chinese nouns, some have argued that this information might be encoded at the classifier level and that classifiers might play a functional role similar to that of gender-marked determiners. In order to better understand the role massifiers and classifiers play in language comprehension, three visual world experiments were conducted. Phonological cohort competition and anticipatory eye-movements were examined in cases of English mass reference, Chinese count reference, and Chinese mass reference. Results suggest that classifiers are interpreted structurally and have an immediate impact on referential selection, and this effect is potentially stronger with massifiers and mass referents.
Matteo Greco
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- September 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780198871217
- eISBN:
- 9780191914225
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198871217.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
Function words are commonly considered to be a small and closed class of words in which each element is associated with a specific and fixed logical meaning. Unfortunately, this is not always true as ...
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Function words are commonly considered to be a small and closed class of words in which each element is associated with a specific and fixed logical meaning. Unfortunately, this is not always true as witnessed by negation: on the one hand, negation does reverse the truth-value conditions of a proposition, and the other hand, it does not, realizing what is called Expletive Negation. This chapter aims to investigate whether a word that is established on the basis of its function can be ambiguous by discussing the role of the syntactic derivation in some instances of so-called Expletive Negation clauses, a case in which negation seems to lose its capacity to deny the proposition associated with its sentence. Both a theoretical and an experimental approach has been adopted.Less
Function words are commonly considered to be a small and closed class of words in which each element is associated with a specific and fixed logical meaning. Unfortunately, this is not always true as witnessed by negation: on the one hand, negation does reverse the truth-value conditions of a proposition, and the other hand, it does not, realizing what is called Expletive Negation. This chapter aims to investigate whether a word that is established on the basis of its function can be ambiguous by discussing the role of the syntactic derivation in some instances of so-called Expletive Negation clauses, a case in which negation seems to lose its capacity to deny the proposition associated with its sentence. Both a theoretical and an experimental approach has been adopted.
