Philosopher Andy Clark argues that there is no clear division between hallucination and ordinary perception

Is perception a controlled hallucination? Andy Clark, a philosopher at the University of Edinburgh, and Anil Seth, a neuroscientist at the University of Sussex, both gave talks on the subject at the Human Mind Conference 2017.

In normal perception, the common belief is that the mind neutrally gets information from sensory organs, such as eyes and ears. Meanwhile, in a hallucination what we what we expect or believe shapes what we see.

Clark and Seth show how this description of hallucination – in which our beliefs shape what we see – explains normal perception.

Find out what they have to say in this event write up:

Big Questions Online – Is Perception a ‘Controlled Hallucination’?

About Andy Clark

Andy Clark is Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests include robotics, artificial life, embodied cognition, mind, technology, and culture.