Sensory Blending ─ On Synaesthesia and Related Phenomena

Synaesthesia is, in the words of the cognitive neuroscientist Cytowic, a strange sensory blending. Synaesthetes report seeing colours when hearing sounds or proper names, or they experience tastes when reading the names of subway stations. How do these rare cases relate to other more common examples where sensory experiences get mixed - cases like mirror-touch, personification, cross-modal mappings, and drug experiences? Are we all more or less synaesthetes, and does this mean that we are all subjects of crossmodal illusions? Could some apparently strange sensory cases give us an insight into how perception works? Recent research on the causes and prevalence of synaesthesia raises new questions regarding the links between these cases, and the unity of the condition.

By bringing together contributions from leading cognitive neuroscientists and philosophers, this volume considers for the first time the broader theoretical lessons arising from such cases of sensory blending, with regard to the nature of perception and consciousness, the boundaries between perception, illusion and imagination, and the communicability and sharing of experiences.

Ophelia Deroy, University of London

Ophelia Deroy is a researcher at the Centre for the Study of the Senses and the co-director of the Institute of Philosophy at the University of London. She specialises in philosophy of mind and cognitive neurosciences, and has widely published on issues related to multisensory perception, sensory deficits, and synaesthesia, both in philosophical and scientific journals. She is an active promoter and a leading advocate of stronger connections between philosophical and scientific approaches to the mind. Her work is frequently broadcast in national and international newspapers, and she is regularly consulted by institutions and the media regarding the relevance of philosophy for scientific debates.