Another illustration of this kind of illusion recently occurred in my
own experience. Nearly opposite to my window came a narrow space between
two detached houses. This was, of course, darker than the front of the
houses, and the receding parallel lines of the bricks appeared to cross
this marrow vertical shaft obliquely. I could never look at this without
seeing it as a convex column, round which the parallel lines wound
obliquely. Others saw it as I did, though not always with the same
overpowering effect. I can only account for this illusion by help of the
general tendency of the eye to solidify impressions drawn from the flat,
together with the effect of special types of experience, more
particularly the perception of cylindrical forms in trees, columns, etc.
It may be added that a somewhat similar illustration of the action of
special types of experience on the perception of individual form may be
found in the region of hearing. The powerful disposition to take the
finely graduated cadences of sound produced by the wind for the
utterances of a Iranian voice, is due to the fact that this particular
form and arrangement of sound has deeply impressed itself on our minds,
in connection with numberless utterances of human feeling.
_Illusions of Recognition._
As a last illustration of comparatively passive illusions, I may refer
to the errors which we occasionally commit in recognizing objects. As I
have already observed, the process of full and clear recognition,
specific and individual, involves a classing of a number of distinct
aspects of the object, such as colour, form, etc. Accordingly, when in a
perfectly calm state of mind we fall into illusion with respect to any
object plainly visible, it must be through some accidental resemblance
between the object and the other object or class of objects with which
we identify it. In the case of individual identification such illusions
are, of course, comparatively rare, since here there are involved so
many characteristic differences. On the other hand, in the case of
specific recognition there is ample room for error, especially in those
kinds of more subtle recognition to which I have already referred. To
"recognize" a person as a Frenchman or a military man, for example, is
often an erroneous process. Logicians have included this kind of error
under what they call "fallacies of observation."
Errors of recognition, both specific and individual, are, of course,
more easy in the case of distant objects or objects otherwise
indistinctly seen. It is noticeable in these cases that, even when
perfectly cool and free from emotional excitement, we tend to interpret
such indistinct impressions according to certain favourite types of
experience, as the human face and figure. Our interpretative imagination
easily sees traces of the human form in cloud, rock, or tree-stump.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account