ABSTRACT
Modern accounts of vision draw on the past in innumerable and often unstated ways. The divisions we draw between the physics of light, physiological responses to it, and the psychology of perception represent hard-won battles. The theories applied to these remain matters of debate. We are in a better position to appreciate the massive advances that have been made in understanding the nature of light, image formation, visual anatomy and physiology, and visual phenomena themselves when we can place them in the context of the past. The historical perspective is often overlooked or neglected in books on perception, which is a pity because it implies that we now have a privileged viewpoint, superior to those of the past. In fact, the same theoretical issues often recur, disguised by the new jargon to appear different. Seeing through the shroud of the present can facilitate our understanding of such issues, and remaining ignorant of past attempts to grapple with them can inhibit progress.
