This being so, it is possible for errors of perception to arise through
peculiarities of the nervous organization itself. Thus, as I have just
observed, sensibility has its limits, and these limits are the
starting-point in a certain class of widely shared or _common_
illusions. An example of this variety is the taking of the two points of
a pair of compasses for one by the hand, already referred to. Again, the
condition of the nervous structures varies indefinitely, so that one and
the same stimulus may, in the case of two individuals, or of the same
individual at different times, produce widely unlike modes of sensation.
Such variations are clearly fitted to lead to gross _individual_ errors
as to the external cause of the sensation. Of this sort is the illusory
sense of temperature which we often experience through a special state
of the organ employed.
While there are these errors of interpretation due to some peculiarity
of the organization, there are others which involve no such peculiarity,
but arise through the special character or exceptional conformation of
the environment at the moment. Of this order are the illusions connected
with the reflection of light and sound. We may, perhaps, distinguish the
first sub-class as organically conditioned illusions, and the second as
extra-organically determined illusions. It may be added that the latter
are roughly describable as common illusions. They thus answer in a
measure to the first variety of organically conditioned illusions,
namely, those connected with the limits of sensibility. On the other
hand, the active illusions, being essentially individual or subjective,
may be said to correspond to the other variety of this class--those
connected with variations of sensibility.
Our scheme of sense-illusions is now complete. First of all, we shall
take up the passive illusions, beginning with those which are
conditioned by special circumstances in the organism. After that we
shall illustrate those which depend on peculiar circumstances in the
environment. And finally, we shall separately consider what I have
called the active illusions of sense.
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