ABSTRACT
H. von Helmholtz’s theory of visual space perception from the point of view of empiricism can be summarized as follows. The perceived properties of space are, in all cases, the results of an unconscious inference to the best explanation. For Helmholtz, the sole mechanism responsible for these space perception capabilities is learning by association—that is, unconscious inferences are learned and the learning is associative. Most typically, the empiricist has in mind experiences of a particular kind—those that can be related to the achievements of space perception in an obvious, transparent way. Helmholtz’s stance in regard to space perception is that its development is strictly exogenous. In the absence of confirming evidence for obvious exogenous experiences, the contemporary student of perception is likely to be drawn to the opposite position: that space perception develops through strictly endogenous processes.
