Perception, Imagination, and the Nature of Experience
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: Philosophy
Abstract
I will investigate the nature of perception and perceptual experience. The research focuses around two main questions. First, whether perceptual experiences, involved in seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting the world, can be affected by cognitive states such as beliefs, desires and expectations. This question is whether 'cognitive penetration' can occur and if it occurs I will examine in what conditions it does so.
An alleged example of cognitive penetration is reported by psychologists Plant and Peruche (2005). They discovered that, in a computer simulation, police were more likely to judge that an object in a suspect's hand was a gun (and subsequently shoot) if the suspect was black. If the police shoot because their beliefs change the way the object looks to them - that is, change their perceptual experience - then this would be a case of cognitive penetration. Although when they received training the police could overcome this bias, they couldn't do so immediately. They couldn't stop their beliefs affecting their experience. But beliefs and desires clearly don't always have an effect on experience and sometimes it seems they cannot. Consider that, no matter how much I desire my motorway service station food to be a gourmet meal, it does not taste like one.
The existence of cognitive penetration is highly disputed. My distinctive and original contribution will be to argue that cognitive penetration can take place, however, I will claim that one needs more substantial argument to show this than is usually given.
The second question is: What is the nature of perceptual experience, such that it can be so influenced by beliefs, desires and expectations? I will explore mechanisms by which cognition may affect experience. I will argue that one mechanism that can explain many cases of cognitive penetration involves perceptual imagination affecting perceptual experience. I will also argue that imagination's influence on experience can account for many features of perceptual experience that have resisted explanation, in particular, types of experience of absence.
The existence of cognitive penetration has implications for whether perceptual experience can give us knowledge. A mainstream view of experience is that it is an independent arbiter of the truth. If you believe some empirical proposition to be true and I believe it to be false then we can (often) look and see who is right. But the existence of cognitive penetration raises the spectre that we may have different experiences of the world depending on what beliefs we already hold. Thus, our experiences are not independent from our existing beliefs. I will call attention to these epistemological issues.
I will also highlight the moral and social concerns that arise from the existence of cognitive penetration. Studies, such as that of Plant and Peruche (2005) discussed above, raise questions as to whether people can be blamed for their actions in certain circumstances if their very experience of the world is skewed by their beliefs. For if their experience confirms their skewed beliefs then it looks as if subjects are stuck in a circle of bigotry. This raises issues of social policy such as should we screen police officers and other public officials for prejudice? And should they undergo training to mitigate the effects of potential bias?
In short, my research will cast light on the nature of perceptual experience and how it is influenced by our cognitive system. Insight will be gained about the nature of the representational and conscious aspects of experience. And the implications of the existence of cognitive penetration will be made vivid.
An alleged example of cognitive penetration is reported by psychologists Plant and Peruche (2005). They discovered that, in a computer simulation, police were more likely to judge that an object in a suspect's hand was a gun (and subsequently shoot) if the suspect was black. If the police shoot because their beliefs change the way the object looks to them - that is, change their perceptual experience - then this would be a case of cognitive penetration. Although when they received training the police could overcome this bias, they couldn't do so immediately. They couldn't stop their beliefs affecting their experience. But beliefs and desires clearly don't always have an effect on experience and sometimes it seems they cannot. Consider that, no matter how much I desire my motorway service station food to be a gourmet meal, it does not taste like one.
The existence of cognitive penetration is highly disputed. My distinctive and original contribution will be to argue that cognitive penetration can take place, however, I will claim that one needs more substantial argument to show this than is usually given.
The second question is: What is the nature of perceptual experience, such that it can be so influenced by beliefs, desires and expectations? I will explore mechanisms by which cognition may affect experience. I will argue that one mechanism that can explain many cases of cognitive penetration involves perceptual imagination affecting perceptual experience. I will also argue that imagination's influence on experience can account for many features of perceptual experience that have resisted explanation, in particular, types of experience of absence.
The existence of cognitive penetration has implications for whether perceptual experience can give us knowledge. A mainstream view of experience is that it is an independent arbiter of the truth. If you believe some empirical proposition to be true and I believe it to be false then we can (often) look and see who is right. But the existence of cognitive penetration raises the spectre that we may have different experiences of the world depending on what beliefs we already hold. Thus, our experiences are not independent from our existing beliefs. I will call attention to these epistemological issues.
I will also highlight the moral and social concerns that arise from the existence of cognitive penetration. Studies, such as that of Plant and Peruche (2005) discussed above, raise questions as to whether people can be blamed for their actions in certain circumstances if their very experience of the world is skewed by their beliefs. For if their experience confirms their skewed beliefs then it looks as if subjects are stuck in a circle of bigotry. This raises issues of social policy such as should we screen police officers and other public officials for prejudice? And should they undergo training to mitigate the effects of potential bias?
In short, my research will cast light on the nature of perceptual experience and how it is influenced by our cognitive system. Insight will be gained about the nature of the representational and conscious aspects of experience. And the implications of the existence of cognitive penetration will be made vivid.
Planned Impact
The wide range of non-academic beneficiaries are listed below together with details of how they might benefit.
(i) Medical practitioners (psychiatrists and clinical psychologists) who treat patients who suffer from hallucinations and the patients themselves.
My work on the interaction between perceptual experience and imagination will clarify the nature of both. Hallucination is a form of perceptual experience and one important theory of hallucination is that it involves mistaking perceptual imagination for perceptual experience. Thus, my work should shed light on this theory of hallucination. In addition, other theories of hallucination may be made more or less plausible by my findings. Finding out about the nature of hallucination may lead medics to find better treatment for those suffering from hallucination resulting, for example, from Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, or brain damage.
(ii) Artists
The purpose of the vast majority of art works, regardless of the medium, is to produce perceptual experiences in people. My work entails that when you have a perceptual experience, the nature of that experience may be affected by the beliefs and desires that you hold. This information is of relevance to artists whose aim is to produce works that are to be perceived. They might consider more than they do at present the mental lives of the audience who perceive their work, or what their audience have seen before, or the order in which they have seen things if they are trying to create a specific reaction in people. Alternatively, they may adopt the methodology of trying to produce pieces that may affect people very differently depending on the different beliefs and desires that they have. My work may help them determine the situations in which people's existing mental lives are more likely to affect the perceptual experience that they have of an artwork.
(iii) Policy makers and law makers.
My work will attempt to show that what people perceive depends on their prior beliefs and desires. This raises questions as to whether people can be blamed for their actions in certain circumstances if their very experience of the world is skewed by their beliefs. For if their experience confirms their skewed beliefs then it looks as if subjects are stuck in a circle of bigotry. This raises issues of social policy, such as, should we screen police officers and other public officials for prejudice? And should they undergo training to mitigate the effects of potential bias (for it seems as if certain sorts of training are able to mitigate the effects of bias)? And should we place as much weight on eye-witness testimony as we do now, or in what situations should we be wary of doing so?
(i) Medical practitioners (psychiatrists and clinical psychologists) who treat patients who suffer from hallucinations and the patients themselves.
My work on the interaction between perceptual experience and imagination will clarify the nature of both. Hallucination is a form of perceptual experience and one important theory of hallucination is that it involves mistaking perceptual imagination for perceptual experience. Thus, my work should shed light on this theory of hallucination. In addition, other theories of hallucination may be made more or less plausible by my findings. Finding out about the nature of hallucination may lead medics to find better treatment for those suffering from hallucination resulting, for example, from Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, or brain damage.
(ii) Artists
The purpose of the vast majority of art works, regardless of the medium, is to produce perceptual experiences in people. My work entails that when you have a perceptual experience, the nature of that experience may be affected by the beliefs and desires that you hold. This information is of relevance to artists whose aim is to produce works that are to be perceived. They might consider more than they do at present the mental lives of the audience who perceive their work, or what their audience have seen before, or the order in which they have seen things if they are trying to create a specific reaction in people. Alternatively, they may adopt the methodology of trying to produce pieces that may affect people very differently depending on the different beliefs and desires that they have. My work may help them determine the situations in which people's existing mental lives are more likely to affect the perceptual experience that they have of an artwork.
(iii) Policy makers and law makers.
My work will attempt to show that what people perceive depends on their prior beliefs and desires. This raises questions as to whether people can be blamed for their actions in certain circumstances if their very experience of the world is skewed by their beliefs. For if their experience confirms their skewed beliefs then it looks as if subjects are stuck in a circle of bigotry. This raises issues of social policy, such as, should we screen police officers and other public officials for prejudice? And should they undergo training to mitigate the effects of potential bias (for it seems as if certain sorts of training are able to mitigate the effects of bias)? And should we place as much weight on eye-witness testimony as we do now, or in what situations should we be wary of doing so?
Organisations
- University of Glasgow (Lead Research Organisation)
- Sorbonne University (Collaboration)
- University of Manchester (Collaboration)
- Concordia University (Collaboration)
- HARVARD UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- University of Copenhagen (Collaboration)
- University of Bergen (Collaboration)
- University of London (Collaboration)
- University of Warwick (Collaboration)
- University of Fribourg (Collaboration)
- University of Vienna (Collaboration)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW (Collaboration)
- University of Tuzla (Collaboration)
- New York University (Collaboration)
- University of Toronto (Collaboration)
- University of Kentucky (Collaboration)
- University of Barcelona (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
Fiona Macpherson (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Macpherson F
(2015)
The Cognitive Penetrability of Perception - New Philosophical Perspectives
Macpherson F
(2014)
Is the Sense-Data Theory a Representationalist Theory?
in Ratio
Macpherson, F.
(2017)
Perceptual Imagination and Perceptual Memory
Winlove CIP
(2018)
The neural correlates of visual imagery: A co-ordinate-based meta-analysis.
in Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior
Description | I examined the nature of perception. In particular, I examined what one would need to establish in order to show that cognitive penetration occurs. Cognitive penetration occurs when one's cognitive states, such as one's beliefs or desires, affect (in specific ways that I make more precise) one's perception and/or perceptual experience. I outline the challenges to showing that this takes place. I give details of the most convincing empirical case, and I argue that a mechanism for cognitive penetration exists consisting of imagination affecting perceptual experience. I also examine the relationship between cognitive penetration and two theses about perception, namely (1) that perceptual experience has nonconceptual as opposed to conceptual content and (2) that predictive coding is the correct account of perception. In each case I show that the answer is not straightforward and depends on the exact forms of those theses and on the exact form of cognitive penetration. |
Exploitation Route | My work has been highly cited by philosophers, psychologists and neuroscientists and much debated. This debate is ongoing and I have spoken at many conferences on this topic. My work has been responded to in print by many people. I have written and commented on psychologists' and neuroscientists' subsequent work on cognitive penetration drawing on my own findings. |
Sectors | Other |
URL | https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/staff/fionamacpherson/#/%0A%0Aresearchandonlinepapers%0A%0A |
Description | I have given numerous interdisciplinary talks to scientists about the nature of experience. I have talked to them about potential experiments that they could carryout which would help to settle theoretical and practical questions. I organised a conference on sensory substitution and augmentation that included a public engagement day where the devices scientists have made and developed could be tried out by the public and people with disabilities. I run a website on visual and auditory illusions that gets around 280 hits a month. I run a FaceBook page for the Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience, that I direct, that informs that public and the work of the Centre and about perception more generally. We have over 1580 'likes'.In Septemebr 2017 the illusion page was replaced by the far more substantial "Illusions Index" detailed elsewhere on this return. I have given numerous public lectures about my work to artists, academics and the general public. Moreover, I have organised many research stations at public science festivals and similar events to bring perceptual phenomenal and our research to the attention of the public. I appeared on the PhilosophyBites podcast talking about hallucination. The podcast has been downloaded over 60,000 times. I have carried out numerous reviews of people, grants, departments, and so on. Notable, I have been appointed a trustee of the Kennedy Memorial Trust and a Council Member of the AHRC. |
Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Other |
Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
Description | AHRC Council Member |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | Council members are appointed by the Minister for Universities and Science and are responsible for the overall strategic direction of the AHRC including its key objectives and targets, and key decisions about the research direction of the AHRC. |
URL | http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/News-and-Events/News/Pages/New-appointments-to-Arts-and-Humanities-Research-Co... |
Description | British Philosophy Postgradaute Conference, Training and Reserach |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | I mentored Postgraduate students to apply to run the annual British Postgraduate Philosophy Conference, which includes training and research. I carried out mock job interviews, gave a talk 'Academic Publishing in Philosophy', and supervised the students in carrying out research on the qualifications of philosophers when they were hired for different types of jobs: temporary lecturers, postdocs, permanent jobs etc. |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/philosophyresearch/cspe/events/archive/bppaconferen... |
Description | Conversations in Mind/Brain/Behaviour, Harvard |
Geographic Reach | North America |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | I was a speaker at Conversations in Mind/Brain/Behaviour, interfaculty event, Harvard University, debating with Professor Robert Stickgold (Harvard). the aim was to show how interdisciplinary research in Philosophy, Psychology, and Neuroscience can be done. |
URL | http://mbb.harvard.edu/event/conversations-mindbrainbehavior |
Description | DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) 2016 |
Geographic Reach | Europe |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | Referee for DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) 2016 |
Description | European Society for Analytic Philosophy |
Geographic Reach | Asia |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | Member of the Steering Committee of the European Society for Analytic Philosophy. In order to further contacts and collaboration amongst European analytic philosophers, the Society intends: To organize European Congresses of Analytic Philosophy (ECAP) on regular basis. Such congresses will allow European analytic philosophers, whatever their areas of interest (philosophy of language, ethics, epistemology, metaphyics, philosophy of mind, etc.), to meet and come to know each other. to issue a newsletter and other publications of general interest (a directory of the European analytic philosophers and a booklet containing information about istitutional aspects of philosophy in different European countries are planned). to facilitate the organization of European conferences and workshops on specific subjects within analytic philosophy. |
URL | http://www.esap.info |
Description | External consultant for a Professorial Position (W3), Ludwig-Maximillians University |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Description | Kennedy Memorial Trust Trustee |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | I am a Trustee of the Kennedy Memorial Trust. The Kennedy Memorial Trust was established in 1964 to administer money raised in the UK as a tribute to the late President John Kennedy. Part of the fund was used to create and maintain the Kennedy Memorial site at Runnymede, Surrey. The remaining money is used to provide Kennedy Scholarships, which enable British post-graduate students to study at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Trustees are responsible for the selection process for those scholarships and for managing the maintenance of the Kennedy Memorial in Runnymede. See also: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/kennedy-memorial-trust-appointments--2 |
URL | http://www.kennedytrust.org.uk |
Description | Member of the Mind Association Executive Committee |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | The Mind Association supports and promotes research excellence in philosophy. It is responsible for the management and financial support of the quarterly journal, Mind. For a statement of the journal's review practices see MIND Review Practices The Association also supports philosophical research in two main other ways: by offering conference grants to help fund high quality, open conferences and workshops in any area of philosophy; and by funding research fellowships. From 2010 the fellowships offered comprise: up to three six-month research fellowships; and a 12-month fellowship, the Mind Senior Research Fellowship. In the academic year following the tenure of their fellowship, the Mind Senior Fellow gives a public lecture hosted by their home institution. |
URL | http://www.mindassociation.org |
Description | Philosophy Department, University of Auckland |
Geographic Reach | Australia |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | Invited external overseas reviewer of the Philosophy Department, University of Auckland, September 2014. Various recommendations about the Department and the University were made. |
Description | Reviewer for the Volkswagen Foundation |
Geographic Reach | Asia |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | Invited reviewer for the Volkswagen Foundation's funding initiative "European Platform for Life Sciences, Mind Sciences, and the Humanities", Hannover, Germany, October 2014. Read grant proposals and interview grant applicants and made recommendations to the board of trustees about who they should and should not fund. |
URL | http://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/en/funding.html |
Description | Society for Philosophy and Psychology |
Geographic Reach | North America |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | Reviewer for the 2016 Society for Philosophy and Psychology Conference |
URL | http://www.socphilpsych.org/ |
Description | AHRC Development Grant |
Amount | £80,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2015 |
End | 12/2015 |
Description | AHRC Large Grant in Science in Culture |
Amount | £2,000,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2013 |
End | 12/2016 |
Description | British Academy Conference Grant |
Amount | £12,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | The British Academy |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2013 |
End | 04/2013 |
Description | Durham Emergence Project: Fellowship Programme |
Amount | £50,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | The John Templeton Foundation |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United States |
Start | 09/2014 |
End | 09/2015 |
Description | Follow-on Funding for Impact and Engagment |
Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | AH/R004684/1 |
Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2018 |
End | 12/2018 |
Description | Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Network Grant |
Amount | £19,986 (GBP) |
Organisation | Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2015 |
End | 03/2017 |
Description | Royal Society of Edinburgh Small Grant for Derek Brown |
Amount | £2,850 (GBP) |
Organisation | Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2012 |
End | 12/2012 |
Description | University of Cambridge's New Directions in the Study of the Mind Project via the John Templeton Foundation |
Amount | £6,670 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | New Directions in the Study of the Mind Project |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 06/2017 |
Description | University of Cambridge's New Directions in the Study of the Mind Project via the John Templeton Foundation |
Amount | £58,610 (GBP) |
Organisation | The John Templeton Foundation |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United States |
Start | 06/2016 |
End | 07/2017 |
Description | University of Cambridge's New Directions in the Study of the Mind Project via the John Templeton Foundation |
Amount | £9,824 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | New Directions in the Study of the Mind Project |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2017 |
End | 08/2017 |
Description | University of Glasgow Knowledge Exchange Fund |
Amount | £15,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Glasgow |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2017 |
End | 03/2017 |
Description | Visiting Professorship (London) |
Amount | £50,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of London |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2013 |
End | 05/2013 |
Description | Bergen Project Development Consortium on Philosophy, Neuroscience and Ethics |
Organisation | University of Bergen |
Country | Norway |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | International consultant and collaborator on the Research Council of Norway funded Bergen Project Development Consortium on Philosophy, Neuroscience and Ethics |
Collaborator Contribution | Organised and ran the project and associated activities. |
Impact | the workshops influenced my written research. |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | Centre for the Study of the Senses (CenSes) |
Organisation | University of London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I am co-director of the Centre for the Study of the Senses |
Collaborator Contribution | Co-directors, award holders and researchers |
Impact | This is a multi-disciplinary collaboration involving philosophy, psychology and neuroscience. We have influenced each other's research, held numerous joint seminars, workshops and conferences and public engagement activities. |
Start Year | 2009 |
Description | EXRE: Centre for Research on Mind and Normativity |
Organisation | University of Fribourg |
Country | Switzerland |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Held joint workshops and seminars together |
Collaborator Contribution | Held joint workshops and seminars together |
Impact | We have produced conference papers and influenced each others' written research |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | International Leverhulme Network: Evaluating Methods of Aesthetic Enquiry across Disciplines |
Organisation | Concordia University |
Country | Canada |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I'm an associate researcher who will attend two workshops. |
Collaborator Contribution | The network is run by Professor Dee Reynolds at the University of Manchester. The network involves many researchers from around the world who will meet at various workshops. |
Impact | Disciplines involved: Philosophy, Psychology, French, Anthropology, Art History, Neuroscience |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | International Leverhulme Network: Evaluating Methods of Aesthetic Enquiry across Disciplines |
Organisation | Sorbonne University |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I'm an associate researcher who will attend two workshops. |
Collaborator Contribution | The network is run by Professor Dee Reynolds at the University of Manchester. The network involves many researchers from around the world who will meet at various workshops. |
Impact | Disciplines involved: Philosophy, Psychology, French, Anthropology, Art History, Neuroscience |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | International Leverhulme Network: Evaluating Methods of Aesthetic Enquiry across Disciplines |
Organisation | University of Copenhagen |
Country | Denmark |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I'm an associate researcher who will attend two workshops. |
Collaborator Contribution | The network is run by Professor Dee Reynolds at the University of Manchester. The network involves many researchers from around the world who will meet at various workshops. |
Impact | Disciplines involved: Philosophy, Psychology, French, Anthropology, Art History, Neuroscience |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | International Leverhulme Network: Evaluating Methods of Aesthetic Enquiry across Disciplines |
Organisation | University of Glasgow |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I'm an associate researcher who will attend two workshops. |
Collaborator Contribution | The network is run by Professor Dee Reynolds at the University of Manchester. The network involves many researchers from around the world who will meet at various workshops. |
Impact | Disciplines involved: Philosophy, Psychology, French, Anthropology, Art History, Neuroscience |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | International Leverhulme Network: Evaluating Methods of Aesthetic Enquiry across Disciplines |
Organisation | University of Manchester |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I'm an associate researcher who will attend two workshops. |
Collaborator Contribution | The network is run by Professor Dee Reynolds at the University of Manchester. The network involves many researchers from around the world who will meet at various workshops. |
Impact | Disciplines involved: Philosophy, Psychology, French, Anthropology, Art History, Neuroscience |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | International Leverhulme Network: Evaluating Methods of Aesthetic Enquiry across Disciplines |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I'm an associate researcher who will attend two workshops. |
Collaborator Contribution | The network is run by Professor Dee Reynolds at the University of Manchester. The network involves many researchers from around the world who will meet at various workshops. |
Impact | Disciplines involved: Philosophy, Psychology, French, Anthropology, Art History, Neuroscience |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | International Leverhulme Network: Evaluating Methods of Aesthetic Enquiry across Disciplines |
Organisation | University of Vienna |
Country | Austria |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I'm an associate researcher who will attend two workshops. |
Collaborator Contribution | The network is run by Professor Dee Reynolds at the University of Manchester. The network involves many researchers from around the world who will meet at various workshops. |
Impact | Disciplines involved: Philosophy, Psychology, French, Anthropology, Art History, Neuroscience |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Nature of Taste Project |
Organisation | New York University |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Attended and presented work at workshops in Abu Dhabi and one in Paris. |
Collaborator Contribution | Attended and presented work at workshops in Abu Dhabi and one in Paris. |
Impact | Input into written research. |
Start Year | 2009 |
Description | Network for Sensory Reserach |
Organisation | Harvard University |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We attended and presented research at workshops and conferences. We organised workshops and conferences. We had graduate exchanges and mentored graduate students. |
Collaborator Contribution | They attended and presented research at workshops and conferences. They organised workshops and conferences. They had graduate exchanges and mentored graduate students. |
Impact | We influenced each other's research, and attended and presented research at workshops and conferences. We organised workshops and conferences. We had graduate exchanges and mentored graduate students. |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | Network for Sensory Reserach |
Organisation | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We attended and presented research at workshops and conferences. We organised workshops and conferences. We had graduate exchanges and mentored graduate students. |
Collaborator Contribution | They attended and presented research at workshops and conferences. They organised workshops and conferences. They had graduate exchanges and mentored graduate students. |
Impact | We influenced each other's research, and attended and presented research at workshops and conferences. We organised workshops and conferences. We had graduate exchanges and mentored graduate students. |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | Network for Sensory Reserach |
Organisation | University of London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We attended and presented research at workshops and conferences. We organised workshops and conferences. We had graduate exchanges and mentored graduate students. |
Collaborator Contribution | They attended and presented research at workshops and conferences. They organised workshops and conferences. They had graduate exchanges and mentored graduate students. |
Impact | We influenced each other's research, and attended and presented research at workshops and conferences. We organised workshops and conferences. We had graduate exchanges and mentored graduate students. |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | Network for Sensory Reserach |
Organisation | University of Toronto |
Country | Canada |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We attended and presented research at workshops and conferences. We organised workshops and conferences. We had graduate exchanges and mentored graduate students. |
Collaborator Contribution | They attended and presented research at workshops and conferences. They organised workshops and conferences. They had graduate exchanges and mentored graduate students. |
Impact | We influenced each other's research, and attended and presented research at workshops and conferences. We organised workshops and conferences. We had graduate exchanges and mentored graduate students. |
Start Year | 2011 |
Description | The Complexity of Perception: A Multidimensional Approach |
Organisation | University of Barcelona |
Department | Faculty of Philosophy |
Country | Spain |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Partnership has just begun. |
Collaborator Contribution | Partnership has just begun. |
Impact | Partnership has just begun. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Thought and Sense: On the Interface between Perception and Cognition |
Organisation | University of Warwick |
Department | Department of Philosophy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Discussion of our research, attendance at a conference by one of my postdocs, future joint conferences are planned. |
Collaborator Contribution | Discussion of our research, attendance at a conference by one of my postdocs, future joint conferences are planned. |
Impact | Discussion of our research, attendance at a conference by one of my postdocs, future joint conferences are planned. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Visiting Professor University of Kentucky |
Organisation | University of Kentucky |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I visited to work with Dr Clare Batty in Philosophy. We discussed a new paper that we may write together. I taught some graduate classes and supervised graduate students. |
Collaborator Contribution | As above. |
Impact | On-going research for a follow-up paper to our: Macpherson, F. and Batty, C. (2016) 'Redefining Illusion and Hallucination in the Light of New Cases', Philosophical Issues, 26: 263 - 296. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Visiting Professor, University of London |
Organisation | University of London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Visiting Professor, Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Carried out research, participated in Institute events and gave a talk. |
Collaborator Contribution | Hosted my visit. |
Impact | Research papers were written. Details reported elsewhere. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Visiting Professor, University of Trnava, Slovakia |
Organisation | University of Tuzla |
Country | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I was a Visiting Professor for one week and I taught eighteen hours of classes on my research to staff, postgraduate and undergraduate students in philosophy and psychology. |
Collaborator Contribution | They discussed my work with me. |
Impact | I had useful discussions of my research with staff and students. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | "Explorathon '15" the European Researcher's night |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | We ran two hands-on research stations, one on the ReThinking the Senses Project and on the Value of Suffering Project at the Glasgow Science Centre from 6 - 11pm. We had over 300 visitors to the stations. We presented a variety of perceptual and pain illusions and other effects including: a thermal grill that produces pain illusions, Patrick Hughes Reverspectives, demonstration of olfactory component in taste, demonstration of nice and nasty flavours, various motion illusions including the motion after-effect, a mirascope, a hyperscope, 2-D and 3-D impossible figures, the McGurk effect. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/philosophyresearch/cspe/outreach/explorathon-2015/ |
Description | An Image of Sound |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I was interviewed by producer Andrew Dawes for a BBC Radio 4 programme 'An Image of Sound' broadcast on 7 February 2015 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b051w066 |
Description | Beer: History, Philosophy, Science |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Co-organised the "Beer: History, Philosophy, Science" workshop and tasting that was open to the public. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/philosophyresearch/cspe/outreach/beer-history-philo... |
Description | Cheltenham Science Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I ran a research stall part of Cheltenham's Fesitval's Discover Zone, welcoming over 9,500 members of the public, including 6,500 pupils and teachers from 95 local schools. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/philosophyresearch/cspe/engagement/cheltenham-fest... |
Description | Co-Host of CBC's Spark |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I was co-host of CBC's "Spark" programme about "Rewiring our Senses" (Programme No. 268) first broadcast December 7, 2014. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.cbc.ca/spark/episodes/2014/12/07/spark-268 |
Description | Colour Public Lecture June 2016 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 'The Philosophy and Psychology of Colour' public lecture at the Glasgow Science Festival. (150 attendees) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/philosophyresearch/cspe/outreach/glasgow-science-fe... |
Description | Creative Dining, Cooking and Technology |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Workshop on 'Creative Dining, Cooking and Technology', organised by UCLIC, UCL, held at John Salt Restaurant, Islington. Attendees included academics, chefs, and food artists/event creators. Website, discussion pieces, and videos created. Website, discussion pieces, and videos. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
URL | http://foodthoughtfood.wordpress.com/ |
Description | Der Tagesspiegel |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel (02/10/2013) has an article on Fiona Macpherson's and Dimitris Platchias' Hallucination volume. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.tagesspiegel.de/meinung/was-wissen-schafft-die-welt-in-uns/8875054.html |
Description | Explorathon 2014 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I supervised Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience Postdocs Keith Wilson and Jennifer Corns in showcasing the CSPE's research at the 'Explorathon' European researchers night at the Glasgow Science Centre. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.thesenses.ac.uk/events/event/explorathon |
Description | Explorathon 2016 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I and other Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience researchers contributed to Explorathon 2016 running a research stall on perception at Explorathon 2016 in the Glasgow Science Centre. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006 |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/philosophyresearch/cspe/outreach/explorathon-2016/ |
Description | Facebook and Twitter |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I run a lively Facebook page for the Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience, posting news of our activities and news items about perception. As of March 2016 we have 1,585 'likes', and our weekly 'reach' is about 1,600 too. From 2015 we linked the Facebook page to a Twitter account, that now also posts the same items. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 |
URL | http://www.facebook.com/Perceptual.Experience/ |
Description | Glasgow Science Centre Mind Matters |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Glasgow Science Centre plans to turn its temporary exhibition 'Mind Matters' which is about perceptual illusions into a permanent exhibition. I, and a postdoc of mine, are providing some consultancy on the exhibition, and myself and the Glasgow Science Centre have applied together for an AHRC collaborative PhD doctoral award to fund a student who will build on these interactions. N/A yet |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Glasgow Science Festival 2015 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Organised the Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience's contribution to a public engagement event that took place on 6 & 7 June 2015 in the Kelvingrove Museum as part of the Glasgow Science Festival. We had stalls presenting a large number of visual, touch, taste and smell illusions and effects, including Patrick Hughes Reverspectives, the rubber hand illusion, ambiguous smells, testing for supertasters, demonstration of olfactory component in taste, motion illusions, a mirascope, a hyperscope, after-images in different eyes, and so on. We carried out an experiment on the public testing their description of the waterfall illusion. The stalls were manned by ourselves and by various other post-docs and PhD students. Members of the roject also gave talks as part of the festival: Charles Spence on 'The Perfect Meal' and Michael Brady on 'The Value of Suffering' (120 people attended each) on 7 June 2015, and myself and Colin Blakemore on 'Vision, Perception, and Illusion', on 8 June 2015 (240 people attended). After my talk I ran an experiment on the audience investigating their experience of the Waterfall Illusion. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/philosophyresearch/cspe/news-and-events/archive/hea... |
Description | Glasgow Science Festival 2016 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Organised the Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience's contribution to the Glasgow Science Festival, consisting of a research stall in the Kelvingrove Museum for two days. We presented a large number of visual, auditory, and, taste illusions and effects. The stalls were manned by myself and other members of the CSPE. Members of the CSPE also gave talks as part of the festival: Myself and David Simmons on the Philosophy and Psychology of Colour (over 150 registered participants), and David Bain on Pains that are Not Unpleasant (over 100 registered participants). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/philosophyresearch/cspe/outreach/glasgow-science-fe... |
Description | How Many Colours Are in the Rainbow? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Audience of about 50 at my talk. Many students at a summer school at which the public lecture was delivered spoke to me and e-mailed me about my work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Impossible Lego Object Exhibit |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Organised the 'Impossible Lego Object' exhibit, one item in the Objects of Research exhibition at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/news/archives/2015/june/headline_409824_en.html |
Description | Individuating the Senses Kent Lecture |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Gave a talk "Individuating the Senses" at the The Human Senses: Inspire Gatherings, School of Music and Fine Art, University of Kent, a public seminar series run by art school students. Discussion of the senses across disciplines and in the arts. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://inspiregatherings.wix.com/senses |
Description | Interviewed by Harry Pettit for an article entitled, "Can you HEAR this silent GIF? Mind-bending audio illusion tricks your brain into thinking you hear a sound while watching a noiseless animation", for the Mail Online, published 4 December 2017 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed by Harry Pettit for an article entitled, "Can you HEAR this silent GIF? Mind-bending audio illusion tricks your brain into thinking you hear a sound while watching a noiseless animation", for the Mail Online, published 4 December 2017. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5143355/Silent-animation-hear-baffles-internet-users.html |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5143355/Silent-animation-hear-baffles-internet-users.... |
Description | Interviewed by Jeff Gailus for piece entitled "We Should Count Balance As One of the Senses" for Nautilus science magazine, published on 3 March 2017. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed by Jeff Gailus for piece entitled "We Should Count Balance As One of the Senses" for Nautilus science magazine, published on 3 March 2017. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://nautil.us/blog/we-should-count-balance-as-one-of-the-senses |
Description | Interviewed by Nicola Twilley for an article on "Seeing with Your Tongue", for The New Yorker, published 15 May 2017. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed by Nicola Twilley for an article on "Seeing with Your Tongue", for The New Yorker, published 15 May 2017. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/15/seeing-with-your-tongue |
Description | Keynote lecture at the Hutchesons' Annual Approaching Philosophy Conference for school children |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 'Illusion and Perception', keynote lecture at the Hutchesons' Annual Approaching Philosophy Conference for school children plus discussion afterwards. Over 140 pupils and 18 teachers from around Scotland attended. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.hutchesons.org/news/2407_hutchesons-philosophy-conference-2015 |
Description | Moving Water |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Took part in "Moving Water", an art participation project by Sensory Sites and collaborators at the October Gallery, London. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.thesenses.ac.uk/events/event/moving-water |
Description | PhilonoUS |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Interviewed by Emma Shephard for PhilonoUS, the University of Sheffield Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy, Spring 2016 edition. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Philosophical Views of Hallucination and Perception |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 'Philosophical Views of Hallucination and Perception', public lecture at the Out of Our Heads art exhibition on hallucination at Shoreditch Town Hall, London Discussion with the public, artists, philoophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://oooheads.org/ |
Description | Philosophy of Hallucination and Perception Glasgow Masterclass |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presented 'Philosophy of Hallucination and Perception', public lecture with over 100 registered participants, lunchtime master class series, Centre for Open Studies, University of Glasgow. Discussion afterwards and by e-mail with participants. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/staff/news/headline_363916_en.html |
Description | PhilosophyBites Hallucination podcast |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Recorded podcast. Approximately 60,000 downloads to date. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://philosophybites.com/2013/03/fiona-macpherson-on-hallucination.html |
Description | Poetry Reading by Dr Nuala Watt |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Co-organised a lecture and poetry reading by Dr Nuala Watt at the University of Glasgow for the public as part of the Understanding the Senses: Past and Present project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006 |
Description | Public lecture at the Glasgow Science Cafe |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 'The Waterfall Illusion', public lecture at the Glasgow Science Cafe, Research Club, Ashton Lane, Glasgow, followed by an experiment to test their reaction to the illusion. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | https://www.facebook.com/researchclubglasgow/posts/732045453579581 |
Description | Public lecture at the Glasgow Science Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 'Vision, Perception and Illusion', public lecture at the Glasgow Science Festival, 8 June 2015. 240 registered participants attended. After my talk I ran an experiment on the audience investigating their experience of the Waterfall Illusion. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/events/sciencefestival/events/adult/headline_325538_en.html |
Description | Research stall at a Glasgow Science Centre Lates Event, Glasgow Science Centre. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Glasgow Science Centre Lates, 5 May 2017 Once a month, the Glasgow Science Centre hosts an exciting series of adult-only late-night science events. In May, 2017 the evening focused on Sensation and researchers from the CSPE were invited to host an interactive stall to engage and trick the senses of the public. CSPE Co-ordinator: Dr Jennifer Corns and Professor Fiona Macpherson CSPE Researchers: Dr. Derek Brown, Abraham Sapién Córdoba, Professor Fiona Macpherson, Dr. Neil McDonnell Interactive exhibits Items on display included: 'Reverspective' 3D images with apparently move in unusual ways relative to observers 'Mirascope' 3D optical illusion of an object 'Hyperscope' that increases 3D depth perception McGurk effect audiovisual illusion Hollow mask illusion Animated transparencies causing motion illusions Spinning motion aftereffect disc Ambiguous sweets that are both nice and nasty Jelly beans that you taste with your nose Nice and nasty sweets |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/philosophyresearch/cspe/engagement/science-centre-... |
Description | Research stall at the Glasgow Science Festival, Kelvin Gallery, Huntarian Museum, Glasgow |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Interactive exhibits - Items on display that the team demonstrated and discussed with people included: 'Reverspective' 3D images with apparently move in unusual ways relative to observers 'Mirascope' 3D optical illusion of an object 'Hyperscope' that increases 3D depth perception McGurk effect audiovisual illusion Hollow mask illusion Animated transparencies causing motion illusions Spinning motion aftereffect disc Ambiguous sweets that are both nice and nasty Jelly beans that you taste with your nose Nice and nasty sweets |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Sensory Substitution and Augmentation Conference and Public Event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I ran a conference on Sensory Substitution and Augmentation at the British Academy for philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists. As part of this I ran an afternoon and early evening event for the public and for those with disabliities where there were hands-on demonstrations of sensory substitution and augmentation devices. This was the frist time ever that all these devices were gathered together in the same place. Devices that were demonstrated were: Amir Amedi (Medical Neurobiology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) - EyeMusic and EyeCane (Virtual Cane) Jon Bird (HCI, University College London) - minimal TVSS: Tactile Vision Sensory Substitution Giles Hamilton Fletcher (Psychology, University of Sussex) - Creole (Auditory-Colour Substitution) Maria Karam (TAD Inc.) - TAD: Tactile Audio Displays Peter Konig (Neurobiology, Osnabruck University) - feelSpace (Magnetic Perception) Michael J Proulx (Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol) - vOICe (Audio-Visual Substitution) Maurice Ptito (Neuroscience, University of Montreal) and Ron Kupers (Copenhagen) - TDU: Tongue Display Unit Laurent Renier (Experimental Psychology, Catholic University of Louvain) - PSVA: Prosthesis for Substitution of Vision by Audition People enjoyed the day very much. We made a video of the day and a website that linked to information about the various devices. We also recorded the talks and put them online. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/philosophyresearch/cspe/events/archive/sensorysubst... |
Description | Special Collections event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Co-organised an event in Special Collections in the University of Glasgow Library for the public as part of the Understanding the Senses: Past and Present project. It consisted of a room displaying visual, audio and cross-modal illusions, illustrating the work of the Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience and a display of some of the library's collection of manuscripts and early printed books relating to the history of the senses together with a presentation on the material by Lynn Verschuren. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/philosophyresearch/cspe/outreach/understanding-the-... |
Description | Talk to Eye Surgeons at King's College Hospital, London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | 'Philosophy of Hallucination and Perception, talk to Eye Surgeons at King's College Hospital, London |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | The Future of Dining Practices |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Wrote a paper for the website on the future of dining practices. Reported discussion by peers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
URL | http://foodthoughtfood.wordpress.com/reflections/fiona-macpherson/ |
Description | The Hidden Senses |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Helped to run "The Hidden Senses: the secrets of taste and smell" a day of talks, activities, experiments, demonstrations, and exhibitions for the public to challenge their understanding of the senses of taste and smell, involving philosophers, psychologists, perfumiers, neuroscientists, artists, chefs, and technologists at the Dana Centre, Science Museum, London. The event showcased the work of the Rethinking the Senses project and was part of the national AHRC Being Human Festival of the Humanities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.thesenses.ac.uk/events/event/the-hidden-senses-the-secrets-of-taste-and-smell |
Description | The Illusions Index |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The Illusions Index is a fully searchable, interactive curated collection of illusions. The illusions are categorised into different types, allowing you to search for, and compare, illusions that fall under one or more type. Staff and students at the Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience have researched each illusion to provide detailed information about what it teaches us about the philosophy and psychology of perception. The Illusions Index is an open-access resource, intended for use both by the general public and by researchers in the philosophy and psychology of perception, and beyond. The pages for each illusion are stable URLs, so researchers can easily cite illusions in scholarly work by referring to those URLs. The Index is funded by the Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience, the School of Humanities, and the College of Arts at the University of Glasgow, and by donations from you. All we ask is that you cite the articles in The Illusions Index using the author and citation information indicated beside each article, and conform to the Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC_SA 4.0). The Illusions Index was conceived of by Professor Fiona Macpherson, and designed and developed together with Dr Keith Wilson and Mucky Puddle. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.illusionsindex.org |
Description | Timandra Harkeness interview |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed by Timandra Harkeness for a Blakeway Production programme for Radio 4 on sensory substitution and augmentation, to be broadcast in 2017 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Website and Social Media |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I run an illusions website that receives around 300 hits per month. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 |
URL | http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/humanities/research/philosophyresearch/cspe/illusions/ |
Description | Why We Should Count Balance As One of the Senses |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed by Jeff Gailus for an article on "Why We Should Count Balance As One of the Senses" for Nautilus science magazine, published 3 March 2017 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://nautil.us/blog/we-should-count-balance-as-one-of-the-senses |