False reflections
Accepted version
Peer-reviewed
Repository URI
Repository DOI
Change log
Authors
Steenhagen, Maarten https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7192-8442
Abstract
Philosophers and psychologists often assume that mirror reflections are optical illusions. According to many authors, what we see in a mirror appears to be behind it. I discuss two strategies to resist this piece of dogma. As I will show, the conviction that mirror reflections are illusions is rooted in a confused conception of the relations between location, direction, and visibility. This conception is unacceptable to those who take seriously the way in which mirrors contribute to our experience of the world. My argument may be read as an advertisement of the neglected field of philosophical catoptrics, the philosophical study of the optical properties of mirrors. It enables us to recast familiar issues in the philosophy of perception.
Description
Keywords
mirrors, appearances, illusion, perception of space, catoptrics
Journal Title
Philosophical Studies
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
0031-8116
1573-0883
1573-0883
Volume Title
174
Publisher
Springer