• Several classical philosophical theories of perception presuppose that the meaning of a perceptual object is solely its explicit cognitive content. By contrast, Edmund Husserl and William James offer unique frameworks for constructing a far more satisfactory account of perceptual meaning. Husserl provides a theory of perceptual horizons. His theory of horizonal consciousness grew in large measure from the intellectual promptings of William James. In his description of the stream of thought, Jame…Read more
  •  44
    James's Theory of Fringes
    Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 32 (3). 1996.
    The purpose of this article is to present a more thoroughgoing account of what James means by the fringes of perceptual objects. The first section presents James's account of fringes of objects of consciousness within the context of his celebrated analogy of the stream of the fringe phenomenon for perception. It concludes by proposing a preliminary "working" definition of the concept "fringe": fringes are active bridges of associations (logical, psychological, etc.) from what is perceptually imm…Read more