ABSTRACT

THE analogy between the eye and the camera was first proposed in 1604 byJohann Kepler. It then came to play a central role in the psychology andphilosophy of perception for the next 350 years. It also had the added benefit of providing a scientific rationale for Western pictorial representation. Kepler’s theory of vision had suggested there was a strong similarity between the way the eye functioned and the optical principles of the camera obscura. In particular, he felt that his analogy could overcome the classical problem of how images of objects that were far away and much larger than the eye could find their way inside such a small organ of perception.