ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the historical context as prelude to a discussion of the contemporary debates, ending with issues that are as of yet still on the horizon. Since the 17th century, the practice account has largely given way to the ordering and instrument accounts. The concept of limitation and limited resources has long been a central theme of attention research, but just what the limitations and resources are is rarely stated explicitly. While limitation could be seen as a unifying feature of attention research, some have used this lack of clarity to argue against conceptualizing attention through limitation or constraint. A final scientific development that informs philosophical debates on attention is the shift from conceiving of attention as a spotlight to conceiving of attention as a field or landscape of differential impact. In Campbell's case, the mechanisms of attention provide bound objects that can be experienced and then consciously highlighted, allowing us to refer to and track.
