The Principles of Psychology, Volume 2 (of 2)James, William
Science
The Principles of Psychology, Volume 2 (of 2)
James, William
Psychology
But the symbol will often give us the emotional effect of the
perception. Such expressions as the abysmal vault of heaven, the
endless expanse of ocean, etc., summarize many computations to the
imagination, and give the sense of an enormous horizon. So it seems
with the blind. They multiply mentally the amount of a distinctly felt
freedom to move, and gain the immediate sense of a vaster freedom
still. Thus it is that blind men are never without the consciousness of
their horizon. They all enjoy travelling, especially with a companion
who can describe to them the objects they pass. On the prairies they
feel the great openness; in valleys they feel closed in; and one has
told me that he thought few seeing people could enjoy the view from
a mountain-top more than he. A blind person on entering a house or
room immediately receives, from the reverberations of his voice and
steps, an impression of its dimensions, and to a certain extent of its
arrangement. The tympanic sense noticed on p. 140, _supra_, comes
in to help here, and possibly other forms of tactile sensibility not
yet understood. Mr. W. Hanks Levy, the blind author of 'Blindness and
the Blind' (London), gives the following account of his powers of
perception:
"Whether within a house or in the open air, whether walking or
standing still, I can tell, although quite blind, when I am opposite
an object, and can perceive whether it be tall or short, slender
or bulky. I can also detect whether it be a solitary object or a
continuous fence; whether it be a close fence or composed of open
rails; and often whether it be a wooden fence, a brick or stone wall,
or a quick-set hedge. I cannot usually perceive objects if much lower
than my shoulder, but sometimes very low objects can be detected.
This may depend on the nature of the objects, or on some abnormal
state of the atmosphere. The currents of air can have nothing to do
with this power, as the state of the wind does not directly affect
it; the sense of hearing has nothing to do with it, as when snow
lies thickly on the ground objects are more distinct, although the
footfall cannot be heard. I seem to perceive objects through the skin
of my face, and to have the impressions immediately transmitted to
the brain. The only part of my body possessing this power is my face;
this I have ascertained by suitable experiments. Stopping my ears
does not interfere with it, but covering my face with a thick veil
destroys it altogether. None of the five senses have anything to do
with the existence of this power, and the circumstances above named
induce me to call this unrecognized sense by the name of 'facial
perception.'... When passing along a street I can distinguish shops
from private houses, and even point out the doors and windows, etc.,
and this whether the doors be shut or open. When a window consists
of one entire sheet of glass, it is more difficult to discover than
one composed of a number of small panes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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