The Principles of Psychology, Volume 2 (of 2)James, William
Science
The Principles of Psychology, Volume 2 (of 2)
James, William
Psychology
Visual perception supplies numberless instances in which the same
sensation of vision is perceived as one object or another according
to the interpretation of the mind. Many of these instances will come
before us in the course of the next two chapters; and in Chapter
XIX similar illusions will be described in the other senses. Taken
together, all these facts would force us to admit that _the subjective
difference between imagined and felt objects is less absolute than
has been claimed, and that the cortical processes which underlie
imagination and sensation are not quite as discrete as one at first is
tempted to suppose. That peripheral sensory processes are ordinarily
involved in imagination seems improbable; that they may sometimes be
aroused from the cortex downwards cannot, however, be dogmatically
denied._
* * * * *
_The imagination-process_ CAN _then pass over into the
sensation-process._ In other words, genuine sensations _can_ be
centrally originated. When we come to study hallucinations in the
chapter on Outer Perception, we shall see that this is by no
means a thing of rare occurrence. At present, however, we must admit
that _normally the two processes do_ NOT _pass over into each other_;
and we must inquire why. One of two things must be the reason. Either
1. Sensation-processes occupy a different _locality_ from
imagination-processes; or
2. Occupying the same locality, they have an _intensity_ which under
normal circumstances currents from other cortical regions are incapable
of arousing, and to produce which currents from the periphery are
required.
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