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184425

The measurement of perceptual durations

Robert Efron

pp. 207-218

Abstract

It is often claimed that consciousness is immeasurable because it has no attributes such as mass, extension, charge, etc., which can be quantified in physical units. For this reason some philosophers have referred to it, pejoratively, as "the ghost in the machine".It will be argued that consciousness can be quantified with respect to time and that the "ghost in the machine" can, in fact, be measured. Recent experiments in which visual and auditory perceptions were measured accurately will be described. The results of these measurements and the theoretical framework used to account for them permit a novel interpretation of a number of time-dependent perceptual phenomena. One of these phenomena will be demonstrated.

Publication details

Published in:

Fraser J T, Haber Francis C., Müller Gert H (1972) The study of time: proceedings of the first conference of the international society for the study of time oberwolfach (black Forest) — West Losevy. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 207-218

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-65387-2_15

Full citation:

Efron Robert (1972) „The measurement of perceptual durations“, In: J.T. Fraser, F. C. Haber & G.H. Müller (eds.), The study of time, Dordrecht, Springer, 207–218.