ABSTRACT
The ontological component in James J. Gibson’s theory of perception stands in contrast with historically prevalent scientific theories of perception; it leads to an epistemological reformulation of perception and secondarily, other forms of knowledge. Newtonian science contained an epistemological element that reflected its ontology. Owing its philosophical origins to Parmenides, Plato, Democritus, Johannes Kepler, Descartes, and the matter-spirit dualism of the Scientific Revolution, Newton’s science will serve as the paradigmatic case of one of the two main philosophies in western history. The two most prevalent ontologies within science and the psychology of perception have been materialism and mind-matter dualism. Robert Shaw and Dr. Michael Turvey have been particularly concerned with developing a new approach to scientific explanations of perception and behavior that incorporates the idea of reciprocity, while rejecting the causal chain explanation of perception.
