liliana albertazzi -- thepsychological whole. i- the temporal parts of presentation

8/11/2019 Liliana Albertazzi -- ThePsychological Whole. I- The Temporal Parts of Presentation

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146 LILI N ALBERTAZZ

w h o l e w h e r e i t i s th e p a r t s t h a t d e t e r m i n e t h e w h o l e a c c o r d i n g t o s o m e p r i n c i p l e

o f c o m p o s i t i o n ; i t is , in f a c t , t h e r e v e r se .

S i n c e t h e s e t h e o r i e s , a s I t o ld , a r e s t r o n g l y i n f l u e n c e d b y A r i s t o t e l e a n t h o u g h t ,

i t i s t h e re fo re a d v i s a b l e t o b e a r a t l e a s t o n e b a s i c m e reo lo g ic ', ', 'a i c l a s s i f i c a t i o n i n

m i n d , e v e n i f th e n a t u r e o f t h e w h o l e o f p r e s e n t a t i o n , b e i n g s ti l l f a r f r o m b e e n

c l a r if i e d , i n m y o p i n i o n i s no t p e rf e c t ly m a t c h e d b y t h e A r i s to t c l e a n m o r p h o l o g y

o f w h o l e s .

A r i s t o tl e d e f i n e s t h e c o n c e p t o f

whole

o r t o t a l i t y

holon)

f i r s t a s t h a t w h i c h i s

s u c h by nature a n d n o t b y c o n s t r a i n t ( l i k e t h i n g s w h i c h a r e j o i n e d b y g l u e o r

n a i l s o r b y b e i n g t i e d t o g h e t e r ) , b u t w h i c h c o n t a i n s i n i t s e l f t h e c a u s e o f i t s

c o n t i n u i t y [ A r i s t o t l e , Metaphysics, I 0 , 1 0 2 3 b 2 6 - 2 8 ] . S e c o n d , w h o l e i s one in

f o r m

]A r i s t o t l e , 5 , 1 0 2 3 b 1 8 -2 2 ] .

S p e c i f i c a l l y , i n t h e b o o k 1 0 o f

Metaphysics

A r i s t o t l e d i s t i n g u i s h e s d i f f e r e n t

k i n d s o f w h o l e s :

( i) W h o l e a s

aggregate,

s u c h t h a t a l l i ts p a r t s a r e s e p a r a b l e ( a h e a p o f s a n d , a

f l o c k o f s h e e p , a f l i g h t o f b i r d s , e t c .) . A r i s t o t l e c a l l s t h is t h e i m p r o p e r w h o l e

o r o n e w h i c h i s s u c h ' o n l y b y a n a l o g y ' .

( i i )

hztegral

w h o l e , a w h o l e i n s o f a r it e m b r a c e s q u a n t i t y , i .e ., ' S o c r a t e s ' w h o s e

p a r t s p a r t i a l l y c a n b e s e p a r a t e d , p a r t i a l l y n o t . F o r c x . , y o u c a n c u t t h e f i n g e r

o f S o c r a t e s , b u t n o t h i s h e ad , o t h e r w i s e y o u d e s t r o y t h e w h o l e .

(i i i ) Essen t ia l w h o l e , w h i c h d o e s n o t h a v e s e p a r a b l e p a r t s, i .e . , a c c o r d i n g t o

A r i s t o t l e , G o d . T h e e s s e n t i a l w h o l e i s a l s o t h e w h o l e b y d e f i n i t i o n .

These two la t ter def in i t ions o f wh ole arc in the prope r sense ' and no t by

ana logy [O n d i f f e ren t k inds o f who le and the i r h i s to ry c f . Hen ry 1972 and 1984 ;

Bu rkh ard t 199 1 . A second d i f ference l ies in the lac t that in the case of the

aggregate i ts parts can a lso ex is t independent ly ( the ind iv idua l gra ins o f sand, the

ind iv idu a l sheep, e tc .) , whi le in the case o f in tegra l and essentia l wh oles , the

ex is tence o f the whole precedes the ex is tence o f the par ts , w hich are

such

o n l y i n

re la t ion to the whole to which they per ta in . There arc there lbre a t leas t two laws

o f co mp os i t i on o f who les tha t we can labe l as : ( i ) bo t tom up and ( i i ) t op do wn. In

both cases there i s a re la t ion o f ontological dependence n the f i rs t case (sum ),

the re la t ion g oes f rom the par ts to the whole; v iceversa, in the o ther case, the

re la t ion goes f rom the whole to i ts par ts [For the d is t inc t ion between law of

onto log ica l dependence and law o f found at ion o f . A lher tazz i 1995b] .

1 . 3. I m m a n e n t i s t i c r e a li s m h a s n o t h i n g to d o w i t h t h e w h o l e a s a g g r e g a t e . I t

c o n s i d e r s , i n s t e a d , t h e i n t e g r a l a n d t h e e s s e n t i a l w h o l e s . A c c o r d i n g t o t h e a c t u a l

s t a t e o f r e s e a r c h , h o w e v e r , w e c a n o n l y s t a t e t h a t t h e a c t o f p r e s e n t a t i o n

c o n s t i t u t e s a m e t a p h y s i c a l l y p r i m a r y w h o l e i n w h i c h t h e p a r t s d e p e n d o n t h e


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T H E P S Y C I l O L O G I C L W I O L E . I : T I l E T E M I ~ '3 R A L P A R ' I 'S O F P R E S E N T A T I O N 1 4 7

w h o l e a n d w h i c h i s n o t a m e n a b l e t o a f o r m u l a t i o n b a s e d o n a n e x t e n s i o n a l t h e o r y

o f t h e s u m o f i n d i v id u a l p a rt s.

A r i s t o t l e g i v e s f o u r d i f f e r e n t d e f i n i t i o n s o f p a r t [ A r i s to t l e ,

Metaphysics,

5 , 2 6 ,

1 0 2 3 b , 1 1 - 2 5 ; I 0 , 1 0 3 4 b , 3 3 ] .

i ) P a r t is t h a t i n t o w h i c h t h e q u a n t i t y

poison)

m a y b e d i v i d e d .

i i) P a r t i s t h a t i n t o w h i c h t h e f o r m

eidos)


i ii ) P a r t i s th a t i n t o w h i c h t h e w h o l e

holon)


i v ) P a r t i s t h a t i n t o w h i c h t h e d e f i n i t i o n m a y b e d i v i d e d

stoicheion)

[C f .

D a p p i a n o 1 9 9 3 a , 1 9 9 3 b ; P o l l , D a p p i a n o a n d L i b a r d i 1 9 9 3 ] .

I m m a n e n t i s t i c re a l i sm c o n s i d e r s p a r t s o f ty p e i i) , i ii ) a n d i v ) , w h i l e o n l y

H u s s e r l a n d B r e n t a n o a t a c e r t a i n s t a g e o f h i s t h o u g h t t a k e s p e c i f i c c o n s i d e r a t i o n

o f t y p e i ) [ H u s s e r l 1 9 7 2 ; B r e n t a n o 1 9 7 6 I .

1 . 4. l m m a n e n t i s t i c r e a li s m a s a m e t a p h y i s i c a l o p t io n , c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e

p s y c h o l o g i c a l t h e o r y o f p e r c e p t io n a n d m e n u d p r e s e n t a ti o n s , ca n b e s u m m e d u p

b y a f u n d a m e n t a l t h e s i s a n d s o m e o t h e r d e r i v e d t h e s e s .

T h e f u n d a m e n t a l t h e s i s i s t h e

intentionality of consciousness,

b y w h i c h i s

m e a n t t h a t

every a ct has an object,

w h o s e n a t u r e h a s t o b e s p e c i f i e d .

l n t e n t i o n a l i t y h a s a

t empora l s t ruc ture ,

w h i c h w e w i l l s t u d y f r o m a

mereological point of v iew.

T h e

objects

o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s a r e e i t h e r

psychic

phenomena

i m m e d i a t e a n d e v i d e n t) o r

physical phenomena

m e d i a t e d a n d n o t

e v i d e n t ) . T h e s e t w o d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f p h e n o m e n a a r e d i s t in c t i n i n n e r p e r c e p t i o n .

I s h a l l t r y t o s u m u p t h e t h e o r y i n s e v e r a l t h e s e s. T h e I b l l o w i n g t h e s e s a r e a l l

a s c r i b a b l e t o B r e n t a n i a n s , a l t h o u g h t h o s e p r e s e n t e d i n t h i s e s s a y a r e s l i g h t l y

m o d i f i e d w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h o s e s e t o u t p r e v i o u s l y , t o r a k e a c c o u n t o f c e r t a i n

s y s t e m a t i c a n d e x p e r i m e n t a l d e v e l o p m e n t s o f t h e t h eo r y .

T h e s i s 1 . C o n s i d e r e d i n i t s

macrostructure,

t h e r e i s a r e l a t i o n o f

one-side

dependence

b e t w e e n a c t s a n d o b j e c t s o f p r e s e n t a t i o n , i .e . , th e o b j e c t s d e p e n d s o n

t h e a c t s . I n t h i s s e n s e t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n i s in t e n t io n a l [ B r e n t a n o 1 8 7 4 . O n t h e

r e l a ti o n o f d e p e n d e n c e , f r o m a n o n t o lo g i c a l p o i n t o f v i e w , c f . S i m o n s 1 9 8 2 ;

S m i t h , M u l l i g a n 1 9 8 2 ] . C o n s i d e r e d i n i t s

microstructure,

t h e re i s a r e l a t i o n o f

bilateral dependence

b e t w e e n p h e n o m e n i c u n it s o f t i m e a n d s u b - o b i e c t u a i

c o r r e l a t e s [ C f . B r e n t a n o 1 9 3 3 ; W e r t h e i m e r 1 9 2 2 / 3 ; V i c a r i o 1 9 9 5 ]

T h e s i s 2 . A n a c t o f p r e s e n t a ti o n i s a w h o l e c o m p o s e d o f

independent and

non-independent parts

p i e c e s , p h a s e s , a s p e c t s , c o n t e n t s , m a t e r i a l c o n n e c t i o n s

l i k e f i g u ra l q u a l i t i e s , e t c . ) a n d

components

d i r e c t a n d i n d i r e c t m o d e s , f o r m a l

c o n n e c t i o n s l i k e r e l a t i o n s , b o u n d a r i e s , e t c . ) a t v a r i o u s l e v e l s o f b o t h t h e

macro-


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48 LILIANAALBERTAZZI

and the microstructure [Husserl 900-1 , 1966a; Benu ssi 1913; Bo nave ntura

1929; Calabresi 1930].

Thes i s 3 . The ob jec t s o f t he ac t a re o f two types : t hose wh ich a re pe rcep t ive ly

p resen t and those wh ich a re men ta l l y p resen t . Perceptive objects a re

chara cterized by percept ive presence, assimi la tive function and syn thet ic schema .

Menta l ob jec ts are characterized by mental presence, reproduct ive funct ion and

add i t i ve schem a [Musa t t i 1964].

Thesis 4 . Presenta t ion has two basic modes: a

direct

m o d e a n d a n

indirect

mode . The modes a re s t ruc tu ra l componen t s o f t he ac t . The d i rec t mode i s t he

di rect ion of the act to the object ; the indi rect mo de i s the d i rect ion of the ac t to

i t se l f ( i .e . the consciou sness of the act ) : in th is way the indi rect mod e rend ers the

act in to a sec ond ary ob ject of presen ta t ion [Aris to t le , De an ima Bren tano 1874

and 1911; Benussi 1923].

Thes i s 5 . The p resen ta t i on co r responds t o t he t empora l (o r phenomen ic )

extension of the psych ic present . The psy chic present i s not i s tantaneous, but has

a temporal extension, consis t s ing of a group of mic roeven ts connec t ed to each

o the r by a t empora l s t ruc tu re i n such a way tha t they a re pa r t s o f a more

com plex event [Bren tano 1874 , 1976 and 1987 I . Th e parts of th is tempo ral

s t ruc tu re a re e ssen t i a l l y qualitative par t s (un i t s o f phenomen ic t ime) [Hnsse r l

1966a; Vicario 1973].

Thes i s 6 . The ob jec t o f p resen t at i on as actual correlate of t he ac t comes in to

be ing and con t inues i n be ing by

accompanying

( shadowing) the p roduc t ion o f t he

act , and ceases wi th i t [James 1950]. Every object as objectual corre la te of the

ac t has a t empora l s truc tu re and t empora l lim i ts o r boundar i es [Bren tano 1976

and 1982; Benussi 1913 and 1923; Bonaventura 1929; Calabresi 1930].

The sis 7 . Just as each act ( in i ts macrost ruc ture) has an objectual corre la te , so

each un i t o f ph enomen ic t ime ( in i ts m ic ros truc tu re ) has a sub -ob jec tua l

corre la te . This sub-objectual corre la te i s the aspect [Husserl 1966a; Vicario

1973].

Thes i s 8 . Th e o rgan iza t ion o f t he phenomen ic un i ts o f t he ac t depen ds ( i ) on

the Ge sta l t laws o f cont igui ty , aff in i ty and co nt rast , and ( i i ) on the tem poral laws

of t he ac t o f p resen ta t ion . The aspec t s emerge by g roups , t h rouh seg rega t ion and

fusion [Bre ntano 1982; Husserl 1966b; B enussi 1913; Albertazzi 1993[ ] .

Im ma nen t is t ic real i sm asserts that w hat exis t s as m etaphysical primi t ive i s the

actual psychic presenta t ion , extended in a percept ive space-t ime. The actual


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THE PSYCHOLOGIC L Wl IOLE h THE TEMPORAL PARTS OF PRESENTATION

149

psych ic p r esen ta t ion i s a lso en dowed w i th ev idence and wi th a non-confu tab le

'cha rac ter of real ity" [Brentano 1874, 191 1 and 1928; Benussi 1923; M usat t i

1964

The presenta t ion i s a s t ructure which, through percept ion, has i t s foundat ion

in the phys i ca l wor ld . The con nec t ion be tween the two shou ld be e l abora t ed by

descr ib ing the var ious layers of real i ty s tar t ing wi th these same st ructures

[Husseri 1939, 1966a and 1966b; lngarden 1931; Albertazzi 1989].

My present analysis deals only wi th the s t ructure of the presenta t ion as a

psycho log ica l who le

or as a theory of i t s temporal par ts and consis ts in a

co m m en t to the theses above expou sed, wi th the help of laboratory f indings. I t i s,

then, a pre l iminary s tudy to the mereology of the act . A seco nd and a th i rd par t

of the w ork, to fo l low, wi l l deal ( i) wi th the descr ip t ion of the o the r par ts o f the

act (as in the theor ies of Brentano, Husser l and Twardowski) and ( i i ) wi th the

dev elop m ent of a system at ic theory of the who le of presenu=t ion.

2 The presenta t ion as an in tentional whole

Bre ntan o 's thcory expoundcd in 1 874 sta tcs that a l l p sych ic ac ts , whatever

the i r ty pe (presentations, judgcmcnL% fee lings) , share a com mo n s t ruc ture.

The refore the fi rs t thes is that assumc regard ing a thcory o f presentation i s that

psy ch ic ac ts arc in ten t iona l ; that i s, they arc addressed towards ' som cth in g ' , they

have a di rect ion. This, thcrelbre, is a relat ion internal to the act (even i f the

conce pt o f ' i n terna l re la t ion ' is ac tua l l y far f rom been c lcar ly ana lyzed) ; and th is

'som eth in g ' i s an in terna l com pone nt o f the ac t , not som eth ing wh ich e x is ts in the

wo r ld independent ly o f the ac t ; i t i s ne ither an ac t i v i ty nor an ent i ty o f the wor ld .

Fo l low ing a w el l esu '~b lished t rad i t ion, I sha l l ca l l "ob jec t ' the someth ing towards

w hich a p sych ic ac t is d i rec ted. Here the term 'ob jec t ' m eans on ly "corre la te o f

the ac t ' , no t ' t h i ng o f t he wo r l d ' . Fo r the doc t r inc o f i n t cn t iona l i t y eve ry ' t o

present" has a 'presen ted ' , every ' to see " a ' secn ' , every ' to th in k ' a ' tho ug ht ' ,

every ' to hear ' a 'heard ' , every ' to des i re ' a 'des i red ' , every ' to fear" a ' feared ' ,

and so on. The 'presented ob jec ts ' are the ob jec ts o f thc corresponding ac ts o f

presenting, seeing, etc.

Th e in i t ia l premise, therefore, i s that ( i ) the ac t i s a wh ole w hich has an

in terna l re la t ion towards an ob jec t .


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3. The object o f the presentation

T o a v o i d m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g s , s h a l l d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n

object o f pre-

sentation a n d presentat ion of an object , i n t e n d i n g t h e f i r s t o c c u r r e n c e o f t h e

o b j e c t a s

internal object

( o r c o r r e l a t e

o f

t h e a c t ) a n d t h e s e c o n d a s

external

object

( t h e o b j e c t i n t h e w o r l d p r e s e n t e d

by

t h e a c t ) [ B r e n t a n o , f o r e x a m p l e ,

d i s t in g u i s h e s b e t w e e n h a v i n g s o m e t h i n g

as wie)

a n o b j e c t a n d h a v i n g s o m e t h i n g

f o r als) o b j e c t : o f . B r e n t a n o 1 9 1 1 ] . i n m y p r e s e n t a n a l y s i s I s h a ll d e a l o n l y w i t h

i n t e rn a l o b j e c t s o f t h e a c t o r c o r r e l a t e s o f t h e a c t s , c o n s i d e r e d i n t h e i r m a c r o - a n d

m i c r o s t r u c u r e , a n d s p e c i a l l y i n r e la t i o n t o p e r ce p t i o n .

F r o m t h i s p o i n t o f v i e w , p h e n o m e n i c a n a l y s i s o f o b j e c t s o f p r e s e n t a t io n s

r e v e a l s a n u m b e r o f o d d i t i e s: t h e r e a re

fictitious

o b j e c t s w h i c h a r e p e r c e i v e d b u t

w h i c h d o n o t e f l b c t i v e l y e x i s t , l i k e K a n i z s a ' s a n o m a l o u s s u r l a c e s o r a u d i t o r y

i ll u s io n s , o r o b je c t s w h i c h e x i s t b ut w h i c h w e d o n o t s e e, m a s k i n g p h e n o m e n a f o r

e x a m p l e ;

ambiguous

o b j e c t s , l i k e t h e d u c k - r a b b i t f i g u r e o r t h e v a s e - f a c e s f i g u r e ,

o r

paradoxical,

i m p o s s i b l e b u t a c t u a l l y p e r c e i v e d o b j e c t s ( E . s c h e r ' s d r a w i n g s ,

A m e s ' r o o m a n d P e n r o s e ' s t ri an g l e) ,

objects ounded

o n p a rt s a n d c o m p o n e n t s o f

o th e r o b j e c t s ( b a t t l e s ) [ C la t t s e w i t z 1 9 3 3 ; S m i th 1 9 8 8 1 , o r higher order o b j e c t s

( m e l o d i e s ) [M e i n o n g 1 8 9 9 ; M a l l y 1 9 0 4 , a n d s o o n . E v e n m o r e i n g e n e r a l , i t is

p o s s i b l e t o h a v e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f v a r i o u s t y p e s o f o b j e c t s ( n o t o n l y p e r c e p t i v e

e l e m e n t s , b u t a l s o s c h e m a t a , c o n n e c t i o n s , r e l a t i o n s , e t c . , a s i n t h e c a s e o f

p e r c e p t i o n o f m o v e m e n t , o f o r d e r , o f c a u s a l i t y , o f s y m m e t r y , o f m e l o d y , e t c . )

[ B o n a v e n t u r a 1 9 2 9 ; M i c h o t t c 1 9 5 4 ; E h r e n f e l s 1 8 9 0 . T h e f e a t u r e c o m m o n t o al l

t h e s e o b j e c t s i s t h a t o n e c a n n o t g i v e a d e s c r i p t i o n t o t h e m i n t e r m s o f a s u m o f

t h e i r p a r t s [ F o r a s c h o l a r p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e t o p i c o f . K a n i ~ s a 1 9 9 1 I .

F r o m a g e n e r a l p o i n t o f v i e w , t h e o b j e c t s o f t h e a c t a r e o f t w o k i n d s : ( A )

p e r c e p t i v e l y p r e s e n t o b j e c t s a n d ( B ) m e n t a l l y p r e s e n t o b j e c t s .

( A )

Perceptive objects

a r e c h a r a c t e r i z e d b y p e r c e p t iv e p r e se n c e , , a s s im i l a t i v e

f u n c t i o n s a n d s y n t h e t i c s c h e m a [ M u s a t ti 1 9 6 4 I.

P e r c e p t i v e p r e s e n c e i s t h a t a s p e c t o f t h e o b j e c t w h i c h r e m a i n s c o n s t a n t ,

r e g a r d l e s s o f o u r s u b j e c t i v e a t t it u d e s ( w h e t h e r , t h a t i s , w e d o u b t i t, b e l i e v e i t, a r e

s u r e o f i t, e tc . ) . A s s i m i l a t i v e f u n c t io n s a r e t h o s e p r o c e s s e s w h i c h g i v e a s o r t o f

f o r m a l o b j e c t u a l u n i t y t o p e r c ep t i v e e x p e r i e n c e s , a n d w h i c h a r e a b l e , i n t h is

r e s p e c t a n d w i t h i n c e r t a in l i m i ts , e v e n to a l t e r t h e p e r c e p t i v e b a s e i n w h i c h t h e y

i n h e r e . A n e x a m p l e o f a n a s s i m i l a t i v e f u n c t i o n is t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f a w o r d

w h i c h w e r e a d c o r r e c t l y a l t h o u g h it is m i s p r i n te d i n th e t e x t: t h e m i s p r i n t i s

c h a n g e d p e r c e p t i v e l y i n t o it s c o r r e c t f o rm ; o r a c a r ic a t u r e , s k e t c h e d o n l y b y s o m e

l i n e s ; o r a n o b l i q u e c i r c l e w h i c h w e e x p e r i e n c e a s a c i r c l e a n d n o t a s a n e l l i p s i s ,

e v e n i f, a s a m a t t e r o f f a ct , w h a t w e r e a ll y s e e / s a n e l li p s is , a n d s o o n [ Z i m m e r

1 9 9 5 ] . A s s i m i l a t i v e f u n c t i o n s t h e r e f o r e a c t a s a s o r t o f " c l o s u r e ' , t h e y g i v e

s o m e t h i n g i ts p r o p e r f o r m [ M u s a t ti 1 9 64 ; K O h l e r 1 9 2 5 ].


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151

A s y n t h e t i c s c h e m a o r f u s io n (Verschmelzung) i s th e c a p a c i t y t o i n c o r p o r a t e

s e v e r a l d i s t i n c t a n d s u c c e s s i v e e l e m e n t s i n t o a

sbnultaneous

o b je c t , i n to a s i n g l e

a c t o f p e r c e p t i o n ( f o r e x a m p l e , a m u s i c a l c h o r d , o r a g g r e g a t e s l i k e a f l o c k o f

sh e e p , a f o r e s t , a f l i g h t o f b i r d s , e t c . ) [ T o b e p r e c i s e , i t i s a s im u l t a n e o u s content

b u t , a s I t o l d , I d o n o t f a c e th i s p r o b l e m i n th i s e s s a y . C f . M e i n o n g 1 8 8 9 ; S t u m p f

1 8 9 9 ; H u s s e r l 1 8 91 a n d H u s s e r l 1 9 0 0 - 1 . O n t h e s u b j e c t cf . H o l e n s t e i n 1 9 7 2 ] .

H e n c e , t h e a s s i m i l a t i v e f u n c t i o n s h a v e a s p e c i f i c objectaal element ( a s o c a l l e d

percept e presence)

[ B e n u s s i 1 9 2 3 I .

T h e p r e s e n c e o f a p e r c e i v e d o b j e c t d e p e n d s o n e x t e r n a l c o n d i t i o n s ( s t i m u l i ,

p e r i p h e r a l f u n c t i o n s , s t a t e o f t h e p e r i p h e r a l o r g a n s ) a n d o n i n t e r n a l c o n d i t i o n s

( p r i o r e x p e r ie n c e o r e n g r a m s , c o m p r e h e n s io n o f l b r m o r a s s u m p t i v e b e h a v i o u r )

[ M u s a t t i 1 9 6 4 i .

T h e o b j e c t s o f t h e p e r c e p t i v e p r e s e n t a r e f i g u r a l , p i c t o g r a p h i c o b j e c t s , a n d

e v o c a t i v e o f

bnage-like

d e sc r ip t i o n s [ C f . K i in g 1 9 7 3 ; W i t tg e n s t e in 1 9 8 4 . F o r a

c o n t e m p o r a r y d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h is t o p ic c f . F i n k e 1 9 8 9 ] . I n c l u d e d a m o n g

p e r c e p t i v e o b j e c t s w e h a v e t o c o u n t a l s o s t e r e o - k i n e t i c o b j e c t s , w h i c h p o s s e s s a

s o r t o f e x p e r i e n c e d o b j e c t u a l i t y : t h e s e i n f a c t a r e o b j e c t s w h i c h a r e o n l y

m e n t a l l y p r e s e n t , b u t w h e n t h e y a r c o b s e r v e d a t r e s t , t h e y a r e p e r c e i v e d

as i f

e x i s t e n t i n r e a l i ty . F o r e x a m p l e , c o n s i d e r a d i s k a s i n th e f o l l o w i n g f i g u r e , w h i c h

r o t a t e s s l o w l y a n d u n i l b r m l y f i r st c l o c k w i s e a n d t h e n a n t i -c l o c k w i s e : i n t h e

f o r m e r c a s e o n e . s ee s a n i n v o l u t iv e m o v e m e n t , i n t h e s e c o n d a n e v o l u t i v e

m o v e m e n t . B o t h m o v e m e n t s a r e a t t h e s a m e t im e apparent a n d real ly p e r c e i v e d

m o v e m e n t s [ B e n u s s i 1 9 2 3 e 1 9 41 ].

F I G . 1

( B ) Mental objects a r e a b s e n t o b j e c t s , c h a r a c t e r i z e d b y r e p r o d u c t i v e

f u n c t i o n s , m e n t a l p r e s e n c e , a d d i t i v e s c h e m a [ M e i n o n g 1 9 0 4 ; M u s a t t i 1 9 6 4 ] .

R e p r o d u c t i v e f u n c t i o n s a r e t h o s e p r o c e s s e s w h i c h p r e s e n t o b j e c t s m e n t a l l y ,

f o l l o w i n g m n e s t i c s ig n s , t o w h i c h o t h e r s a r e a d d e d b y a s s o c i a t i o n a c c o r d i n g t o a n

a d d i t i v e p r o c e d u r e [ I s h a l l n o t e x a m i n e h e r e t h e p r o b l e m o f w h e t h e r t h e s e


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152 LILI N LBERT ZZI

addit ive processes occur a longside neben) percep t ive phenomena o r whe the r

they are co-perceived

mitwahrgenommen):

this problem pertains, in fact, to a

m ore gen eral theory o f intentionality].

The reproductive , associa t ive processes develop by posi t ioning themselves

alongside the percept ive e lemen t and in pr inciple , in contr ,~ t to wh at occurs in

the case of ass im ila t ive processes , have no l imits . Mental objects are presen ted

by a s ign w hich funct ions as a s ignal and which react ivates previous

presenta t ions .

W o r d s

are such s igns, but a lso s ignals in general , l ike road s igns,

flags, etc., are of that type [Biihler 1930]. Since every language is grounded in

the organizat ion of a semantic f ie ld , the objects of mental p resence are objects

evo cativ e of lingu istic descriptions. In fact, they are image s non directly

presented or perceived

figural

images l ike someth ing 'round ' , 'b lue ' , ' l a rge '

e tc .) , but indirectly re-presented images

linguistic

images l ike ' round table ' ,

'b lue bo ok, large road ' , 'dan gerous curve ' , e tc .) . In th is d is t inction l ies a lso the

d i f fe rence be tween presentation and representation: the first being the actual

f igural corre la te

of the act, the second being the

semant ic space o f mean ing

[Musatti 1964; Poli 1995].

4. Primary and secondary, direct and indirect consciousness

A crucial corollary to Brentano's fundamental theory of intentionality is the

dis t inct ion betwe en pr imary and secondary consciousness .

Brentano 's theory is ra ther complex and, moreover , developed in d is t inct

s tages ranging from the theses propounded in 1874 to those se t out in h is

Nachlafl.

For s im plic i ty 's sake, the fo l lowing discussion encomp asses only his

ear ly and f inal posi t ions [For a deta i led t reatment of the subject of . Albertazzi

1994 /5 i.

In 1874 Brentano dis t inguished between direct presenta t ion and indirect

presenta t ion as fo l lows: the act is d irect ly and pr imarly d irected towards the

obj ect, and indirectly and seconda rily directed tow ards itself, that is, i t is

cons cious of i tse lf . In the ear ly years of th is century , B rentano on the contrary

view ed the act as d irect ly d irected towards i tse lf and indirectly tow ards objects

[Bren tano 1933 and 1976] .

In the analysis developed by B rentano a t the beginning of 1900, pr imary

consciousness s t i l l concerns the object , and secondary consciousness s t i l l

conce rns consciousness of the act ; but now the

direct

mode is d irected towards

secondary consc iousness and the indirect modes are d irected towards pr imary

consciousness . Moreover , the

temporal

mode s of presenta t ion, which are now

defini t ively

indirect

modes, p lay a major ro le , because the percept ion of pr im ary

objects in indirect mode var ies f rom the present mode to a ser ies of narrowly


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c i r c u m s c r i b e d p a s t modes i t v a r i e s

within a duration

[ B r e n t a n o 1 9 7 6 ;

A l b e r t a z z i 1 9 9 3 c , 1 9 9 4 /5 ] . T e m p o r a l d e t e r m i n a t io n s a p p e a r o n l y a s

before-after

d e t e r m i n a t i o n s . T h e s e d e t e r m i n a ti o n s a r e c o m p o n e n t s o f t h e a c t a n d r e la t iv e t o

t h e s u b j e c t w h o h a s a p r e s e n t a t i o n i n t h e a c t u a l p r e s e n t . O n t h e b a s i s o f

p r e s e n t a t i o n w e c a n

indirectly

h a v e m u l t i p l e a n d m u l t i l o r m r e l a t iv e

d e t e r m i n a t i o n s , i n a s t r e t c h o f t i m e , b u t n o n e o f t h e m i s a n a b s o l u t e o n e . T h e

t e m p o r a l r e l a t i o n e x is t s o n l y i n th e p r e s e n t , i n i ts f u n d a m e n t , w h i c h c o i n c i d e s

w i t h t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e p e r c e i v i n g s u b j e c t . T h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f o b j e c t s ,

t h e n , i s n o t i s t a n t a n e o u s , b u t e x t e n d e d i n t i m e , a n d b a s e d o n i n d i r e c t , t e m p o r a l

m o d e s o f p r e s e n t a ti o n .

O n e o f t h e m a j o r c h a n g e s m a d e t o h i s th e o r y o f 1 8 7 4 i s th e r e f o re t h e reversal

of role between direct

a n d

indirect

m o d e . W i t h B r e n t a n o ' s r e is t s h i f t a n d t he

i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e r e a l w i t h t h e a c t u a l t h i n k i n g s u b j e c t ( s u b s t a n c e ) , a l l t h e

( a c c i d e n t a l) m o m e n t s o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s a re i n h e re n t to i ts l o u n d a t i o n a l p a r t a n d

t h e y s t a n d i n a r e l a t i o n s h i p o f reciprocal co-inherence [ B r e n t a n o 1 9 3 3 ] .

A s t o t h e s t ru c t u r e o f t h e i n t e n t i o n a l r e l a t i o n , t h e n , t h e o b j e c t i n t h e th e o ry

o f 1 8 7 4 i s a ( s t a t i c ) property o f t h e a c t , o n t h e c o n t r a r y i n 1 9 3 3 i s a ( d y n a m i c )

event

( o r , b e t t e r , o f a

group o f events),

c o l l a p s i n g i n t h e t e m p o r a l e x t e n s i o n o f

t h e a c t i ts e l f. M o r e o v e r , t h e r e l a ti o n o f d e p e n d e n c e b e t w e e n a c t a n d o b j e c t i s n o w

a bilatera l dependence,

i n f a c t , l b l l o w i n g th i s c h a n g e o f p e r s p e c t i v e , w h a t e x i s t s

i s t h e

actual modification

o f t h e a c t ( i .e . , n o m o r e a ' s e e i n g a g r e e n t r e e o r

h e a r i n g a n h i g h , s o un d ' , b u t m e r e l y a n a c t o f ' s e e i n g s o m e t h i n g g r e e n ' , ' h e a r i n g

s o m e t h i n g h i g h ' , e t c . ), w h i l s t t h e o b j e c t o f t h e a c t b e c o m e s a f i c ti o n a l o b j e c t

synsemantic

a s B r e n t a n o t e r m s i t ) : t h e r e a c t u a l l y e x i s t s o n l y a n a c t o f a c e r t a i n

t y p e , a s lhnit o f a t e m p o r a l c o n t in u u m . A l s o f r o m t h is p o i n t o f v i e w , t h e

d e p e n d e n c e r e l a t i o n b e t w e n a c t a n d o b j e c t i s a r e l a t i o n o f b i l a t e r a l d e p e n d e n c e ,

s i n c e t h e e x is t e n c e o f t he m o m e n t - n o w a s l im i t o f t he t e m p o r a l c o n t i n u u m

d e p e n d s o n t h e e x i s te n c e o f t he c o n t i n u u m a n d v i c e v c r s a [ B r e n t a n o 1 9 3 3 .

M o r e o v e r , a s l a b o r a t o r y f i n d i n g s s h o w , t h e re i s a s o r t o f m u t u a l c o - i n h e r e n c e o f

t h e G e s t a l t c o n s t i t u e n t s o f th e a c t : s e e b e l o w . F o r a p s y c h o l o g i c a l t r e a t m e n t o f

t h i s s u b j e c t c f . M a t t h a e i 1 9 2 9 a n d , l o t t h e d i f f e r e n t r o l e p l a y e d b y a r b i t r a r y

c o m p o n e n t s a n d s t r u c t u r a l p a r t s i n d i f f e re n t w h o l e s o f . W e r t h e i m e r 1 9 2 2 / 3 ;

G u r w i t s c h 1 9 6 4 ] .

Temporal determinations, a s t h e s u c c e ~ i v e i n d ir e c t m o d e s i n w h i c h w e

a p p r e h e n d t h e s a m e o b j e c t a s m o r e o r l e ss p a s t, m o r e o r l e ss c l os e , c o n s t i t u te t h e

m o d e o f d i s t i n c ti o n a n d n e c e s s a r y c o n n e c ti o n a m o n g t he v a r i o u s a s p e c t s o f t h e

p r e s e n t e d o b j e c t [ A l b e r ta z z i 1 9 9 3 c a n d 1 9 9 3 d ] . H e n c e , t h i n g s ( p h y s i c a l

p h e n o m e n a i n g e n e r a l) a r e g iv e n t o i n ne r p e r c e p t io n a s t r a n s c e n d e n ts , a l t h o u g h i n

p r e s e n t m o d e a n d i n t h e p r e s e n t [ T h i s i s a l s o I n g a r d e n ' s v i e w o f t h e i n t e n t i o n a l

w h o l e : c f . I n g a r d e n 1 9 6 4 - 5 ] .


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1 8 7 4 d i r e c t m o d e :

i n d i r e c t m o d e :

1 9 0 0 d i r e c t m o d e :

i n d i r e c t m o d e :

p r i m a r y c o n s c i o u s n e s s ~ o b j e c t

s e c o n d a r y c o n s c i o u s n e s s -* a c t

s e c o n d a r y c o n s c i o u s n e s s * a c t

p r i m a r y c o n s c i o u s n e s s ~ o b j e c t

4 . 1 . H o w e v e r , m o r e t h a n a r a d i c a l d e p a r t u r e , t h i s c h a n g e o f t h e o r y i s a s h i f t

o f p e r s p e c t i v e . I n d e e d , i n m y v i e w , t h e r e i s n o c o n t r a d i c t i o n o f p o s i t i o n s b e t w e e n

t h e e a r l y [ B r e n t a n o 1 8 7 4 ] a n d t h e l at e r B r e n m n o [ B r e n t a n o 1 9 3 3 a n d 1 9 7 6 ] , o n l y

a d i f f e r e n t a p p r o a c h t o th e p r o b l e m o f p r e s e n t a t i o n : i n t h e f i rs t p h a s e o f h i s

t h o u g h t i t c o n c e r n s t h e m a c r o s t r u c t u r e o f t he a c t ( a s p s y c h i c p h e n o m e n o n ) , i n t h e

s e c o n d i t c o n c e r n s t h e m i e r o s t r u c t u r e o f t h e a c t , i ts c o n s t i t u t i o n w i t h i n t h e

p r e s e n t ( ,a s a m e t a p h y s i c a l p r i m i t i v e c a t e g o r y ) .

I n f a c t , i f w e c o n s i d e r t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n a s a p~ycholog&al whole, t h e l e a d i n g

ro l e i n i t i s p l a y e d b y t h e evidence o f psychic phenomena ( ' see ing a t r e e ' ,

' h ear ing

a n a d a g i o ' ,

wishing

a j o u r n e y , e t c . ) , a n d t h e m i n d i s d i r e c t l y a d d r e s s e d

t o t h a t w h i c h w e s e e , h e a r o r w i s h a n d o n l y i n d i r e c t l y a d d r e s s e d t o i t s e l l, i . e t o i t s

b e i n g c o n s c i o u s o f w h a t w e s e e , h e a r a n d ~ o n . I n t h i s c a s e t h e r e k s a r e l a t i o n o f

o n e - s i d e d e p e n d e n c e b e t w e e n a c t ( s e i n g , h e a r in g , e t c .) a n d o b j e c t ( tr e e , a d a g i o ,

e t c . ) o f p r e s e n t a t i o n .

V i c e - v e r s a , i f w e c o n s i d e r t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n a s a

metaphysical whole,

i n n e r

p e r c e p t i o n c o n c e r n s p r i m a r i ly a n d d i re c t ly

substances

( o u r s e l v e s ) , h e r e a n d n o w ,

a s p a r t o f a n act of presentation; t h e m o d e o f t h i s i n t e n t i o n a l e x i s t e n c e i s g i v e n

b y t h e

correlate

o f t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n w h i c h p e r f o r m s t h e r o l e o f c o m p l e t i o n o r

sa tura t ion o f t h e a c t , a s a s o r t o f v a l e n c y r u le o f s u b - a t o m i c t h e o r y ] S a t u r a t io n i s

a n H u s s e r l i a n t e r m , in d e e d : H u s s e r l 1 9 0 0 - 1 ; S m i t h 1 9 8 2 a n d 1 9 9 2 / 3 ] o r o f

m o d a l i z a t i o n o f o u r c o n s c i o u s n e s s i ts e lf [ B r e n t a n o 1 9 28 a n d B r e n t a n o 1 9 1 1 ].

F r o m a m e t a p h y i s i c a l p o i n t o f v i e w , t h e c a t e g o ri a l s t r u c t u r e o f i n n e r p e r c e p t io n

i s w h a t p e r m i t s a c c e s s t o t h e w o r ld .

I n t h e l a t e r B r e n t a n o , t h e p s y c h i c a c t h a s o n l y o n e d i r e c t m o d e , w h i c h

c o i n c i d e s w i t h t h e actual presentation o f the self; a n d i t h a s m u l t i p l e a n d

m u l t i f o r m i n d i r e c t m o d e s , w h i c h c o n s t i t u t e t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f t h e a c t , o r t h e

m o d e s i n w h i c h t h e a c t h a s i t s e l f a s i ts o b je c t . T h e

modifications

a r e t h e r e f o r e

t h o s e a s p e c t s o r n o n - i n d e p e n d e n t p a r t s o f t h e a c t w h i c h c h a r a c t e r i z e i t a s o n e

p a r t i c u l a r t y p e o f a c t , s o t h a t w e a c t u a ll y h a v e o n l y a seeing a seen ' , a ' lov ing a

loved ' , a n d s o o n [ F r o m t h is r a d i c a l iz a t i o n s t e m s t h e a d v e r b i a l t h e o r y o f t r u t h : c f .

C h i s h o l m 1 9 8 2 ] . T h e f o r m o f s a t u r a t io n o f th e a c t , i ts o b j e c t i v e f o r m i s t h e r e f o r e

a tem poral a nd indirect modif ica t ion

[A l b e r t a z z i 1 9 9 4 / 5 ] .

B u t c a n t h is t h e or y [ B r e n t a n o 1 9 3 3 ] b e g i v e n e m p i r i c a l p r o o f ? M o r e

s p e c i f i c a l l y , i s i t p o s s i b l e t o c o n d u c t e x p e r i m e n t a l a n a l y s i s o f t h e e x i s te n c e a n d

o f t h e s p e c i f i c f e a tu r e s o f s e c o n d a r y c o n s c i o u s n e s s , a c o n s c i o u s n e s s w i t h o u t o h -


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Wl IOLE. h TI IE TEMPORAL I ARI. S OF I RI.LSEN I A IION 155

j e c t s ' , w h i c h d o e s n o t t u rn i t in t o a m e r e l i n g u i s t i c o r c o n c e p t u a l a r t i f i c e ? L e t ' s

b e g i n w i t h t h e s t r u c t u r a l a s p e c t s o f 1 8 7 4 t h e s is .

5. Th e correlate o f the presentat ion

A s r e g a r d s t h e a c t / o b j e c t s t r u c t u r e , i s h a ll h e r e c o n s i d e r o n l y percep t ive

p r e s e n t a t i o n a n d i t s t e m p o r a l m i c r o s t r u c t u r e i n p a r t i c u l a r . s h a l l t h e r e f o r e n o t b e

d e a l i n g w i t h o t h e r t o p ic s w h i c h b e l o n g t o a m o r e s y st e m a t i c t h e o ry o f

i n t e n t i o n a l i t y - w h i c h c o n c e r n s t h e v a r i o u s p o s s i b l e ty p e s o f o b j e c t o f t h e a c t, t h e

s t r u c t u r e o f

menta l

p r e s e n c e a n d , i n g e n e r a l , t h e m a c r o s t r u c t u r e o f t h e a c t . I s h a l l

c o n s e q u e n t l y n o t d i s c u s s p o s s i b l e , i m p o s s i b l e , i n c o m p l e t e , c o n t r a d i c t o r y ( e t c .)

o b j e c t s , n o r t h e d i f f e r e n t p o s s i b l e t y p e s o f i n t e n t i o n al a c t . M o r e o v e r , a s a l r e a d y

s a i d , h e r e I u s e t h e t e r m ' o b j e c t ' o f t h e a c t t o r e f e r to t h e c o r r e l a t e o r p e r c e p t u a l

c o n t e n t , t h e r e b y a v o i d i n g t h e d i s t i n c t i o n s t h a t t h e t h e o r y w o u l d o t h e r w i s e r e q u i r e

b e t w e e n o b j e c t s ( a s

Gegens tand

o r a s

Object

a n d c o n t e n t s ( a s

G e h a l t

o r a s

lnhait - w h i c h w a r r a n t s e p a r a te a n a l y s i s .

S p e c i f y i n g t h e n a t u r e o f a n a c t o f perceptive presentat ion r e q u i r e s n o t s o

m u c h d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e m e c h a n i s m o f t h e u n d e r l y in g p r o c e s se s ( w h i c h i s th e

s u b j e c t - m a t t e r o f p s y c h o p h y s i c s a n d p h y s i o l o g y ) a s u n d e r s t a n d i n g h o w t h e

o b j e c t s w h i c h w e e x p e r i e n c e i n t e r n a l l y const i tu te themselves in the act whereby

we a re conscious o f them.

T h e r e a l i t y u n d e r e x a m i n a t i o n , t h e r e f o r e , is t h a t o f t h e

p s y c h i c a c t a n d i ts c o r r e l a t e s [ A l b e r t a z z i 1 9 9 4 ] .

A n a c t o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s c o m p r i s e s a t l e a s t t w o s tr u c t u r a l a s p e c t s : a p a s s i v e

t e n d e n c y t o r e c e i v e s e n s e c o n t e n t s a n d a n a c t i v e t e n d e n c y .

B y p a s s i v e t e n d e n c y i s m e a n t t h e m e r e ' s e n s i n g ' ; t h a t is , th e b e i n g a f f e c t e d b y

a c o n s t a n t I l o w o f s e n s e d a t a . T h e r e a r e n o " o b j e c t s ' a n d , s t r ic t l y s p e a k i n g , n o t

e v e n i n t e n t i o n a l c o n t e n t s i n th i s l a y e r o f o r i g i n a l p h e n o m e n a , b u t o n l y i n d e x e s ,

l i k e s p a r k s o f l i g h t s, b r i g h t n e s s o f c o l o u r s , s h a p e s , a c c o r d i n g t o a p o i n t i l li s t i c

v i e w o f r e a l it y . M o r e o v e r , o u r a w a r e n e s s o f s e n s i n g i s n o t d i s ti n c t f r o m it . O f

c o u r s e , t h i s s i t u a t i o n i s o n l y a l i m i t i n g c a s e , f r o m w h i c h e m e r g e a s e r i e s o f

o b j e c t u a l m o d i f i c a t i o n s o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s , l i k e a s p e ct s , b o u n d a r i e s , c o n f i g u r a t i o n s

[ H u s s e r i 1 9 1 3 , 1 9 3 9 a n d 1 9 6 6 b .

B y a c t iv e t e n d e n c y i s m e a n t t h e e m e r g e n c e o f a n ' o b j e c t ' w i t h i n t h is

u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e d f lo w , w h i c h t h e r e f o r e p r o p e r l y s p e a k i n g i s th e p r o d u c t i o n o f a n

a r t i c u l a te d b e h a v i o u r o f t h e s u b j e c t [ C f . M a c h 1 8 8 6 ; l n g a r d e n 1 9 6 4 / 5 ] . T h i s

c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f a n o b j e c t, h o w e v e r , i s n o m o r e p u n c t i f o r m l i k e in t h e

p h e n o m e n a l i s t i c a p p r o a c h , b e c a u s e i t i s r e a l iz e d i n a m u l t i p li c i t y o f m o m e n t s

e x t e n d e d i n t o a d u r a t i o n , w h i c h p e r m i t s a s o r t o f in i ti a l j u d g m e n t o n p e r c e p t i o n

[ O n t h e t i c j u d g m e n t c f . B r e n t a n o 1 9 8 7 ; c f. a l so l n g a r d e n 1 9 6 4 - 5 ; f o r a c r i t ic i s m


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56 LILIANA ALBE RTAZ ZI

of phcn om enalsim cf . Brcntano 1988; on the temporal ,aspects of prese nta t ion

dis t inguish ing phcn om cnal ism from brentanism cf . Albertazzi 1994b].

5 .1 . A c rucia l ro le in this in it ia l phase o f presenta t ion i s perform ed by the so

cal led ter t iary qual i t ies . These arc a speci f ic type of f igural qu al i t ies in that they

be long to a phen omen ic (o r Gestalt who le , independent ly of the qual i t ies of i ts

individual parts . Th e ter t iary qual i t ies d iv ide be tween : ( i)

expressive

qual i t ies and

(i i ) the f igural qual i t ies of

inner experience,

of consciousness [Cornel ius 1897;

M etzger 1941 and 1968] .

As qua l i ti e s o f t he phenom cn ic who le , t hc t e r ti a ry qua l it ie s a re app rehended in

percept ive configurat ions or s t ructures . There arc s imi lar ter t iary qual i t ies in

di fferen t perce pt ive f ie lds (considcr the s imi lar i ty am ong a mus ical crescen do, a

day brea k, a grow ing cxpccta t ion , e tc . ) [Metzger 1968]. F inal ly , ter t iary qual i t ies

a re more cv idcn t i n m ovcmcn t s , p rocesses and even t s ( i .e . i n dynam ic s truc tu res )

than in objccts ( i .e . in s ta t ic s tructurcs) and they ari se only un dcr speci f ic spat io-

temp oral con dit ion s [Ycla 1952, KaniT.sa, M ctcll i 1961; Minguz zi 1968; Gy ulai

1982, Vicario 1991].

The cxis tcncc of th is k ind of qual i ty shows that impl ic i t wi th in the act of

prcscnta t ion i s recogni t ion of the

,existence of structures

which a l so possess an

ccologic al va lcnc y, by whic h is recan t an inter-rclation betw ccn the individua l

and his cnvi ronm cnt [Gibson 1972]. Te rt iary qual i t ies , in fact , exhibi t the .

p resence o f a s t ruc tu ra l morph i sm be tween thc pc rccp t ive phcnomena and

express ive phcnom ena o f the human wo r ld ana logous ly t o t he manncr i n wh ich

the g rooves on a g ramophone reco rd have a s t ruc tu ra l morph i sm wi th t he

movcmcnts of the orchest ra performing l ive . Last ly , f igunl l qual i t ies have a

typical form. From th is point of v iew too, they are s t ructures which p lay a very

impo rtant ro lc in the const i tu t ion of the metaphysical whole [On ter t iary qual i t ies

cf . Bozzi 1989; Albertazzi 1993fand 1995d].

5 .2 . In short , th is sort of primc and orig inal in tcrnal s t ructuring of thc act of

prcsenta t ion reduces to awarcness of thc fact that something i s happening here ,

n o w

and

in a certain way;

that i s , wi th a speci f ic typical form [The best

expre ssion de not ing th is s ta te of afhai rs i s the Gcrm an exis tent ia l propo si t ion

es

gibt:

cf . Brentano 1911; Marry 1940].

This i s the point a t which the materia l ontologies of const i tu t ion - a t least

those in ternal to imm ancnt is t ic real i sm - begin .

One of the f i rs t problems to deal wi th i s speci f icat ion of the temporal

th resho ld o f un i f ica t ion . In o the r words , one m us t e s t ab l ish t he max imu m a mo un t

of t im e requi red for the uni f ication of m ul t ip le and diverse sensat ions in a s ingle

object of percept ion. In short , what i s the l imi t of the percept ive presenta t ion?

Th i s p rob lem i s connec ted wi th t he pe rcep tion o f t he phenomena o f

simultaneity ,

change

a n d

succession.


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158 i ILIANA ALBERTAZZI

9 . c o m m o n f a t e , 1 0 . p a s t e x p e r i e n c e [ W e r t h e i m e r 1 9 2 2 / 3 ; K a n i z s a 1 9 8 0 a n d

1 9 9 1 ; V i c a r i o 1 9 9 1 ] .

S o m e p e r c e p t i v e o b j e c t s o f p a r t i c u l a r t y p e a r e b e t t e r i d e n t i f i e d a s ( i )

m o v e m e n t s o f p o s i t i o n i n s p a c e ( b a ll w h i c h r o l l s f r o m r i g h t t o l e f t) a n d / o r

q u a l i t a t i v e a l t e r a t i o n s ( a s u r l a e e w h i c h c h a n g e s c o l o u r , l i k e t h e s k y , e t c . )

i t i s t h e r e f o r e a d v i s a b l e t o d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n 1 . s t a t i o n a r y e v e n t s c o r -

r e s p o n d i n g t o o b j e c t s ; 2 . n o n - s t a t i o n a r y e v e n t s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o m o v e m e n t s o f

p o s i t i o n w i t h i n p e r c e p t i v e s p a c e / ti m e ( a r o l l i n g b a l l , a s q u a r e r o t a t i n g t h r o u g h

4 5 , e t c .) a n d t o q t u d i t a t iv e a l t e r a t io n s ( t h e i n c r e a s i n g o r d e c r e a s i n g i n t e n s i ty o f a

c o l o u r ) ; 3 . q u a s i - s t a t i o n a r y e v e n t s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o p a r t i a l c t u m g e s p e r c e i v e d i n

c e r t a i n p a r t s o f s t a t io n a r y e v e n t s ( th e m o v e m e n t o f r i v e r - w a t e r , o f t h e l e a v e s o f a

t r e e , e t c . ) [ V i c a r i o 1 9 91 - T h e b ,~ s ic d i f l ~ r en c e b e t w e e n o b j e c t s a n d e v e n t s i s t h e

f a c t t h a t t h e p e r c e p t i o n o f e v e n t s i s t ie d t o t h e p e r c e p t i o n o f temporal structures

c o n n e c t e d t o t h e a c t .

5 . 3. T i m e i s a n e s se n t ia l c o m p o n e n t o f p e r c e p ti v e p h e n o m e n a . T h e s p a c e a n d

t i m e o f p e r c e p t i v e p h e n o m e n a , h o w e v e r , d o n o t c o in c i d e w i th t h e s p a c e a n d t im e

o f p hysic .'s .

T h e p r i n c i p a l d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n p h y s i c a l t i m e a n d p h e n ~ m e n i c t i m e i s th a t ( i)

t h e t w o t i m e s d o n o t a l w a y s m o v e i n u n is o n , a n d i n p a r t i c u l a r t h a t ( ii ) a t t h e l e v el

o f t e m p o r a l

microstructure

p h e n o m e n ic t im e in vo lvc .'s a s e r i e s o f l o c a l

q u a l i t a t i v e r e o r g a n i z a t i o n s w h i c h m a y a l s o m t x l i f y t h e o r d e r o f p r e c e d e n c e

a m o n g t h e e l e m e n t s o f a t e m p o r al s eq u e n c e , a s d e m o n s t r at e d b y t he p h e n o m e n o n

o f t e m p o r a l i n v e r s i o n [ B e n u s s i 1 9 1 3 ; V i c a r i o 1 9 7 3 ; A l b e r t a z z i 1 9 9 3 b , d , e a n d

1 9 9 4 a ] .

M y o b s e r v a t i o n s o n t h i s t o p i c w i l l b e r e s t r i c t e d t o t h a t i n q u i r y i n t o

p h e n o m e n i c t i m e w h i c h a n a l y s e s t h e p h e n o m e n a o f s i m u l t a n e i t y , c h a n g e a n d

s u c c e s s i o n i n s t u d y o f t h e p e r c e p t i o n o f i n t e r v a ls [ B e n u ~ s i 1 9 1 3 a n d 1 9 4 1 ;

B o n a v e n t u r a 1 9 2 9 ] .

i n a s i n g l e p e r c e p t i v e a c t o f t h e ,s am e t y p e (e . g . t w o ~ u n d s , t w o l i g h t s, e t c .) ,

a n o r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o c c u r s w h e r e b y t h e y m a y t a k e d i f l ~ r e n t

f o r m s , a c c o r d i n g t o t he i n t e rv a l s b e t w e e n t h e m . T h e t e m p o r a l i n t e r v a l s n e c e s s a r y

f o r th e s i m u l t a n e i t y , p r e c e d e n c e a n d s u c c e s s i o n o f t w o d i f f e r e n t p r e s e n t a t i o n s ( A ,

B ) t o o c c u r a r e t h e f o l l o w i n g :

I . I f t h e i n t e rv a l l a s ts a r o u n d 2 0 m s e c w e p e r c e i v e t h e t w o s i g n s o r s o u n d s a s

s i m u l t a n e o u s .

2 . I f t h e i n t e r v a l la s t s a r o u n d 3 0 m s e c w e p e r c e i v e th e t w o i m p r e s s i o n s a s n o n -

s i m u l t a n e o u s , b u t w e d o n o t p e r c e i v e a n y e m p t y i n t e r v a l b e t w e e n t h e m . W e

a l s o p e r c e i v e a n o r d e r o f p r e c e d en c e , w h i c h t a k e s t h e f o r m o f a g r e a t e r o r

l e s s e r p e r c e p t i v e i n t en s i ty .


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1 5 9

3 . I f the i n t e r val i s l onge r t ha n 30 m se c , t he two im pr e ss ions a r e pe r c e ive d a s

s u c c e s s i v e a n d n o t a s s im u l t a n e o u s .

I n c a se 1 . we pe r c e ive A a s s im ul t a ne o us w i th B ; i n c a se 2 . w e pe r c e iv e A a s

qua l i t a t i ve ly d i f l~ r e n t ( m or e i n t e nse , h ighe r , e t c . ) ; i n c a se 3 . we pe r c e ive A a s

pr io r t o B [ B ona ve n tur a 1929 ; A lbe r t a z z i 1993(1 , 1993e , 1994a ] .

5 .4 . Se c o nd ly , a c c o r d ing t o t he le n th a nd t o t he c on t e n t s o f t he dur a t i on ,

d i f f e r e n t e v a l u a t io n s a r e g i v e n t o t h e i n t e r v a l s be twe e n e ve n t s a nd t o the

dur a t i ons t he m se lve s .

T a ke t h i s e xa m ple : t he sa m e phys i c a l ob j e c t i s p r e se n t e d i n tw o d i s t i nc t

( phys i c a l ) t im e s t t a nd t2 . T he t e m por a l i n t er va l be twe e n t I a nd t x i s t he n r e duc e d

to t he po in t t ha t one n o l onge r no t i c e s ( pe rc e ive s ) t he suc c e s s ion be tw e e n the two

p r e s e n t a ti o n s ( e .g . b e l o w 5 0 m s e c f o r so u n d s ) . T h e t w o p r e s e n t a t io n s a r e n o w

pe r c e ive d i n one s ing l e ' i n s t a n t ' T I o f phe nom e nic t im e . S inc e i t is e v ide n t t ha t

he r e t he t e r m ' i ns t a n t ' i s use d i n a n im pr ope r se nse , we sha ll spe a k o f un it o f

p h e n o m e n i c ti m e .

T h e g e ne r a l p r inc ip l e r e gu l a t i ng th i s t ype o f phe n om e nic e v id e nc e i s t he

lo l l owing [ I use c a p i t a l l e t t e r s f o r t he phys i c a l s e que n c e a nd sm a l l l e t t e r s I b r t he

pe r c e p t ive suc c e ss ion l .

T a k e a p hys i c a l s e que n c e o f .sounds , o f whic h two a r e s im i l a r a nd t he t h i rd i s

d i f f e r e n t a s l o r

a i b ' a 2

I f t he sou nd s I o l low one a no th e r a t i n t e r va ls o f a c e r t a in dur a t i o n ( e .g . 3 00

m se c ) , wh a t i s pe r c e ive d i s t he se qu e nc e

A i - B- A 2

1I, how e ve r , w e r e duc e t he i n te r va l s t o l e s s t ha n 100 m .~ c so t ha t w e ha v e a n

e x t r e m e l y r a p i d s e q u e n c e o f s ti m u l i, w e p e r c e iv e s o m e t h i n g v e r y d i f f e re n t :

A I - A z - B o r B - A I - Az

I n t h i s c a se t he pe r c e p t ive ob j e c t s ha ve be e n t e m por a l l y re or ga n i z e d a c c or d ing t o

t h e l a w o f q u a l i t a t i v e s i m i l a r i t y I n c a se s suc h a s t h i s , t he r e f o r e , t he suc c e ss ion

pe r c e iv e d doe s no t c o r r e spond to t he phys i c a l suc c e ss ion o f t he s t im ul i .

E x a m ple s o f t h is ge ne r a l p r inc ip l e a r e t o be f ound in t he e xpe r im e nta l

a n a l y s i s o f v i s u a l a n d a c o u s t i c p h e n o m e n a , in p a r t ic u l a r t h o s e p h e n o m e n a

c om m only r e f e r r e d t o a s t e m por a l d i s l oc a t i on o r i nve r s ion , whic h p r inc ipa l l y

c o n c e r n t h e p e r c e p t io n o f e v e n t s.


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ALBERTAZZI

Other phenom ena have been d i scovered by l abo ra to ry exper imen te r s , Benuss i

f i r s t of a l l , fo l lowed by [Abe 1935], [Scholz 1924] , [F rai~ e 1963] and [Vicar io

1973] . l i s t the pr incipal of these pheno men a as wel l as thei r ru les of

const i tu t ion . They belong to the acoust ic f ie ld , a l though, as Legrenzi has shown,

there a lso exist ph eno me na of d is locat ion a lso in the v isual f ie ld [Legrenz i 1971] .

Some o f t hese phenomena a r e genera l ly we l l known , a l t hough they may go

und er d i f ferent names, l ike the case of m usical embel l i shmen t consis t ing of the

ext remely rapid and a l ternat ing repet i t ion of two cont iguous notes . A typical

example is the tr i l l .

Bozzi and Vicar io , in par t icular , invest igated the double t r i l l [Bozzi and

Vica r io 1960]. T ake a success ion o f h igh and low no tes a s

a b a ' b ' a b a ' b "

I f the ind iv idua l notes arc long (200 m scc), h igh and low notes are perccivcd in

succession. I f the durat ion i s reduced (un t i l 46 m scc), two d is t inc t t r i l ls , one h igh

and one low, arc heard independent ly o f each other . Spec i f i ca l l y , a i s hcard

s imu l taneou s l y w i th a , and b w i th

b .

An othe r phenomenon o f t he sam e k i nd is the mus ica l phenomcnon o f

ac c iac catu ra , for cxamplc the scqucncc Do h-Si -R c , where the S i resounds

ex t r cm c ly rap id ly . T he phenomenon o f acciaccatura a lso has a tempora l s t ruc ture

which mani fes ts the qual i ta t i vc phenomcnic dcpendencc of one sound-ob jcc t on

ano ther [Alber tazzi 1993b ].

Ag ain: take two .sounds del imi t ing an in terval . I f the in tensi ty of the f i rs t

sound is greater than the in tensi ty of the second, the f i r s t wi l l acquire greater

sa l i ence

Aufftilligkeit)

and will have the effect of "shortening" the interval . Or,

conv ersely , i f the second sound is more in tense , the in terval wi l l be perceived as

last ing long er [Benussi 1913; Bonaventura 1929] .

Al l these p henom ena are" intermodal; they exist , that is, also in other

perc eptua l f ie lds . For exam ple , the analog y to the t r il l in the acoust ic f ie ld i s the

tw inkli ng of a star in the visual f ield, and in the tacti le f i ld the sl idin g of a f inger

ac ross a r oug h su r face

Par t icu lar ly re levant i s the phenome non of the acoust ic tunnel . I t occu rs wh en

there i s the am odal cont inuat ion of a sound b eneath a noise which seem s to cover

a s t re tch o f i t .

T a k e a b r i e f physical sequence of sounds wh ich fo l low each o the r a t intervals

of a c e r t a in du ra t ion (300 msec)

Lah ( fo r 100 msec) -w h i t e no i se (fo r 35 msec) - L a h for 100 msec)


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W H O L E I : T H E T E M P O R A L P A R T S O F P R F S E N T A TI O N

6

L e t r b e a v e r y l o u d n o i s e w h i l e th e t w o n o t e s 4 4 0 H z ) a r e o f m e d i u m i n t e n s i t y .

I n t h i s c a s e a p o s i t i v e te m p o r a l d i s l o c a t i o n o c c u r s s o t h a t w h a t w e r e a l l y h e a r i s

t h e p h e n o m e n i c s u c c e s si o n

L a h - L a h , s h o r t p a u s e , n o i s e

T h i s m e a n s t h a t th e r e h a s b e e n a p e r c e p t i v e r e o rd e r i ng w h i c h h a s o b e y e d t h e

l a w s o f q u a l it a t iv e p h e n o m e n i c s a l ie n c e . T h a t i s to s a y , o n e s t i m u l u s h a s

p r e d o m i n a t e d o v e r t h e o th e r s b e c a u s e o f g r e a t e r p e rc e p t i v e e v i d e n c e .

E x p e r i m e n t s , t h e n, s h o w t h a t th e o r d e r o f t h e p a r ts o f p h e n o m e n i c t i m e d o n o t

c o i n c i d e w i t h t h e o r d e r o f th e p a r t s o f p h y s i c a l t im e . M o r e o v e r , a l t h o u g h t h e unit

of measurement

f o r b o t h o f t h e m i s t h e m i n u t e / s e c o n d , t h e i r

units of

representation

a r e d i f f e m n t : f o r t h e s e q u e n c e o f p h y s i c a l t i m e t h e

instant

a p p l i e s ,

w h i l e p h e n o m e n i c t im e h a s a s p e c i f i c s t r u c t u r a l u n i t , th e

phenom enic tbne uni t

w h i c h c a n b e i d en t if ie d a s c a . 5 0 - 1 0 0 m s e c . T h e u n i ts o f p h e n o m e n i c t im e

t h e r e fo r e c a n n o t b e t he i n s t a n ts o f p h y s ic a l t i m e b e c a u s e p h e n o m e n i c s u c c e s s i o n

d o e s n o t h a v e t h e s a m e d u r a t i o n a s t h e o b j e c t i v e s e q u e n c e o f s ti m u l i [ A l b e r t a z z i

1 9 9 3 d e 1 9 9 4 a ] .

A b o v e a c e r t a i n t e m p o r a l t h r e s h o l d t h e e l e m e n t s r e l a t i v e t o t h e s t i m u l i r e t a i n

t h e i r r e a l p h y s i c a l s e q u e n c e ; b e l o w t h i s t e m p o r a l t h r e s h o l d t h e p l a c e o c c u p i e d b y

a n e l e m e n t i n t h e p e r c e i v e d s u c c e s s i o n

depends on oth er factors

s u c h a s t h e

s i m i l a r i t y o f th e s o u n d - m a t e r i a l s e . g . n o t e s a s c o m p a r e d t o n o i s e s ) o r o n t h e i r

p h e n o m c n i c s a l ie n c e s o u n d s o r c o l o u r s o f g r e a t e r i n te n s it y a s c o m p a r e d t o

s o u n d s o r c o l o u r s o f l e s s e r i n te n s i t y ).

I n c o n c l u s io n , t h e a p p r e h e n s i o n o f a s i m u l t a n e o u s c o n t e n t o c c u r s i n t he

p r e s e n t a t i o n o n t h e b a si s o f i n d i v id u a l e l e m e n t s p e r c e i v e d in s u c c e s s i o n w h i c h

d i f f e r n u m e r i c a l l y a c c o r d i n g t o t h e p e r c e p t i v e f i e l d ); a n d t h e v a r i o u s p h a s e s o f

t h e c o n s t it u t i o n o f t he p r e s e n t a ti o n a r e g o v e r n e d b y t h e l a w s o f g r o u p i n g a n d o f

u n i f i c a t i o n o f t h e a s p e c t s a p p r e h e n d e d , r e l a t i v e t o t h e d i v e r s e a n d s u c c e s s i v e

p a r t s o f t h e o b j e c t p r e s e n t e d .

6. The psychic present

W e h a v e t h u s i d e n t i f i e d t h e a c t o f p r e s e n t a t i o n w i t h t h e p s y c h i c p r e s e n t .

L a b o r a t o r y e x p e r i m e n t s s h o w t h a t th e in d i v i d u a l a c t t a k e n a s a w h o l e i .e . a s

s o m e t h i n g w h i c h i s id e n t i fi a b l e a n d i s o la b l e i n c o n s c i o u s n e s s ) h a s a t e m p o r a l

e x t e n s i o n w h i c h r a n g e s f r o m 7 0 0 r n s e c t o 1 s e c c i rc a ; i n s o m e c a s e s t h e e x t e n s io n

m a y e v e n r e a c h 4 o r 5 m s e c [ B e n u s s i 1 9 1 3; B o n a v e n t u r a 1 9 2 9 ; C a l a b m s i 1 9 3 0 ;

F r a i s s e 1 9 6 3 ; V i c a r i o 1 9 7 3 ] . 7 0 0 m s e c i s t h e a v e r a g e t i m e r e q u i r e d t o a p p r e h e n d

t h e m a x i m u m n u m b e r o f e l e m e n t s o f a c h a n g e i n o n e s i n g l e p e r c e p t iv e a c t.


18/31


T h e t i m e o f t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f a n o b j e c t d o e s n o t c o i n c i d e w i t h t h e d u r a t i o n

o f t h e p e r c e p t iv e a c t : f o r e x a m p l e , a g r o u p o f 6 l e t t er s o r s y l l a b l e s e x p o s e d f o r

o n l y 4 m s e c c a n b e a p p r e h e n d e d , b u t t h i s d o e s n o t s i g n i f y t h a t t h e a c t o f

p e r c e p t i o n i s c o m p l e t e d d u r i n g t h e f e w m i l l i s e c o n d s i n w h i c h t h e o b j e c t i s

e x p o s e d . A p p r e h e n s i o n b e g i n s w i t h t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e o b j e c t , b u t f o r t h e

p r o c e s s t o b e c o m p l e t e a l o n g e r l a p s e o f t i m e i s n e c e s sa r y : a n i n t e rv a l o f t i m e

w h i c h c o r r e s p o n d s , a s w e h a v e s e e n , t o th e p s y c h i c p r e s e n t ( c a 7 0 0 m s e c ) .

T h e p s y c h i c p r e s e n t i s th e r e f o r e c o n s t i t u t e d b y a g r o u p o f e v e n t s w h i c h a r e

i n t e r c o n n e c t e d b y a t e m p o r a l s t r u c t u r e . so t h a t t h e y b e c o m e p a r t o f a m o r e

c o m p l e x e v e n t . T h e c o r r e l a t e o f t h e a c t , i n f a c t , c a n b e d i v i d e d i n t o s m a l l e r

m o m e n t s .

F r o m t h e p o i n t o f v i e w o f t h e c o r r e l a t e , t h e p s y c h i c p r e s e n t i s a

prop rty

(a

l ~: at ur e o f p r e s e n c e ) o f t h e o b j e c t o f t h e a c t [ B e n u s s i 1 9 2 3 ; M u s a t t i 1 9 4 6 ] .

P r e s en t i s w h a t e v e r i s p e r c e i v e d a s u n i t y a n d w h i c h c o n s t i t u t e s t h e o b j e c t o f a

s i n g l e p e r c e p t i o n . R e g a r d i n g t h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f a c t u a l i t y ( f e a t u r e o f p r e s e n c e )

i t sh o u ld b e b o r n e i n m in d t h a t : ( i ) i t i s n o t r e p r e se n t a b l e a s sp e c i f i c s e n so r y

c o n t e n t ; ( i i ) th e r e i s n o s e n s e o r g a n f o r i ts a p p r e h e n s i o n ; ( i ii ) it m a y a c c o m p a n y

a n y s e n s o r y c o n t e n t ; ( i v ) i t m a y a l s o a c c o m p a n y d e s i r e s , e m o t i o n s , v o l u n t a r y

a c t s , e t c . [ B o n a v e n t u r a 1 9 2 9 ] .

A l s o t h e s m a l l e r m o m e n t s o f t h e a c t c a n b e e x a m i n e d i n th e l a b o r a t o r y . T h e y

d i s p l a y a c u r i o u s d u a l i t y a c c o r d i n g to t h e i r d u r a t i o n . F o r e x a m p l e , a s a l r e a d y

s a i d , i t h a s b e e n s h o w n t h a t i f a s e r i e s o f s u c c e s s i v e l e tt e rs a r e p r o j e c t e d b y t h e

t a c h i s t o s c o p e , t h e s h o r t e s t p r e s e n t a t i o n r e q u i r e d f o r t h e i r ( s i m u l t a n e o u s )

r e c o g n i t i o n i s a t l e a s t 3 - 4 m s e c - w h i c h c o n s t it u t e s th e t h re s h o l d v a l u e i n th e

v i s u a l p e r c e p t i v e f ie l d . T h e d u r a t i o n o f 3 - 4 m s e c , i n fa c t , is to b e u n d e r s t o o d a s

c o m p r i s i n g n o e y e m o v e m e n t ( i .e w i t h n o s h i f ti n g o f t h e a tt e n t io n ) a l o n g t h e t e x t .

T h e t e m p o r a l u n i t o f 3 - 4 m s e c c o r r e s p o n d s t o t h e m i n im u m p e r c e p t i o n o f c h a n g e

a n d i t l i e s a t t h e b a s i s o f p s y c h i c t i m e .

I f t h e d u r a t i o n i s i n c r e a s e d t o 4 0 m s e c , n o s u b s t a n t i a l c h a n g e o c c u r s ( a s

r e g a r d s t h e n u m b e r o f e l e m e n t s a p p r e h e n d e d ) : s u b j e c t s p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n

e x p e r i m e n t s r e p o r t t h a t t h e d i f l b r e n c c l i e s i n t h e g r e a t e r o r l e s s e r c l a r i t y o f t h e

p r e s e n t a t i o n . I r a g r o u p o f l et t e rs i s p r e s e n t e d f o r 3 , th e n 3 0 0 m s e c , a n d a g a i n f o r

1 0 0 0 m s e c , t h e s a m e n u m b e r o f l e t t e r s ( b e t w e e n 4 a n d 6 ) i s a l w a y s p e r c e i v e d ,

a l t h o u g h w i t h d i f fe r i n g d e g r e e s o f c l a r it y [ W i r th 1 9 0 8 ] . T h i s d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t

t h e r e i s a l i m i t o n t h e i m m e d i a t e p e r c e p t i v e a n a l y s i s o f a n o b j e c t , a n d t h a t t h e

f i el d o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s a n d i ts p a r t s h a v e a r e s tr i c te d t e m p o r a l e x t e n s i o n

[ B o n a v e n t u r a 1 9 0 9 1 .

O v e r a l l , w e m a y c o n c l u d e t h a t : ( i ) t h e p e r c e p t i o n o f d i s c o n t i n u o u s c h a n g e

a l w a y s p re c e d e s t h a t o f s u ~ i o n ; ( ii ) t h e p e r c ep t i o n o f d i s c o n t i n u o u s c h a n g e

( t ri l l, 5 0 m s e c ) a l w a y s p r e c e d e s t h a t o f i n t e rv a l s ; ( ii i) t h e p e r c e p t i o n o f s p e e d a n d

o f r h y t h m a l w a y s p r e c e d e s t h a t o f t em p o r a l o r d e r.


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T H E

PSYCIIOLOGIC L

W H O L E . i : T I I E T E M P O R . A L P A R I S O 1 : P R E .S E br rA FI O N

163

A c r i ti c a l p o i n t i n t h e p a r t i t i o n o f t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n i s t h e d u r a t i o n o f 1 0 0 m s e c :

h e r e t h e a c t i s s t il l s i m u l t a n e o u s ( t h e r e i s n o s h i f t o f a t t e n t i o n ) b u t a c e r t a i n

n u m b e r o f f u r t h e r f e a t u r e s a p p e a r : t h e su b j e c t g a in s t h e i m p r e s s i o n o f a p r e s e n t

w h i c h l a s t s , o f a d u r a t i o n , a n d s / h e i s a w a r e o f t h e d u r a t i o n ; h e n c e , 1 0 0 m s e c

p r e s e n t a t i o n s h a v e a c o n s c i o u s d u r a t i o n , a n d t h e s u b j e c t i s n o t a w a r e o f t h a t

s e n s a t i o n o f u n c e r t a in t y w h i c h c h a r a c t e ri s e s s h o r t p r e s e n t a ti o n s ( 3 - 4 0 m s e c ) ; t h e

v i s u a l i m a g e a l s o p e r s i s t s .

I n c o n c l u s i o n , a n a l y s i s o f t h e t e m p o r a l s t r u c t u r e o f t h e a c t s h e d s l i g h t a l s o o n

t h e o b j e c t u a l c o m p o n e n t o f t h e p r e s e n t a t io n ; t h a t i s , o n t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h e

c o r r e l a t e .

7 Tem poral partition of the presentation

A s w e h a v e s e e n , t h e p e r c e p t i v e a c t c a n b e b r o k e n d o w n i n t o s m a l l e r

p a r t i t io n s . B r e n t a n o w o u l d s p e a k o f 'd i v i s iv e s o r o f d i s ti n c t io n a l p a r t s ' , S t u m p f

o f p a rt ia l p h e n o m e n a ' : i .e . o f e n ti ti e s w h i c h a r e s u c h o n ly a s p a r t o f s o m e t h i n g

e l s e a n d r e s u l t o f a n a b s t r a c t d i v i s i o n o f t h e w h o l e ( li k e a s o u n d ) [ B r e n t a n o 1 8 7 4

a n d B r e n t a n o 1 9 8 2; S t u m p f 1 8 7 3] . T h e p r o b l e m o f t h e p a r t it i o n o f t h e a c t,

h o w e v e r , i s a c o m p l e x m a t te r . S o f a r w e h a v e d i st i n g u is h e d :

I . L o w e r . o r d e r u n i t s , c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t he p e r c e p t i v e t h r e s h o l d s o f t he

v a r i o u s s e n s o r y s t i m u l i ( e . g . 3 m s e c f o r v i s u a l p r e s e n t a t i o n t o th e t a c h i s t o s c o p e

o f a g r o u p o f 4 o r 6 l e t te r s o r s y l la b l e s ) . T h e s e u n i t s c o r r e s p o n d t o t h e m i n i m a l

p e r c e p t i o n o f c h a n g e a n d t h e y a r e t h e f o u n d a t io n o f w h a t i s i m p r o p e r l y c a l le d t h e

perception o f p s y c h i c t i m e . I f t h e p a r t i t i o n o f t h e a c t w e r e a t o m i c i n n a t u r e , w e

w o u l d c o n c l u d e , f o r e x a m p l e , t h at a v i s u al a c t o f p e r c e p t i o n i s c o m p o s e d o f c i r c a

2 3 0 - 3 3 0 l o w e r - o r d e r u n i ts .

V i c e - v e r s a , t h e p a r t i t i o n o f t h e a c t i s n o t m e r e l y s u m m a t i v e o f e x t e n s i v e

s t a n d a r d p a r t s. T h e p a r t s o f t h e a c t , w h i c h a r e m e a s u r e d b y t h e s a m e b a s i c u n i t

( t h e m i l l i s e c o n d ) , a s w e h a v e s e e n , h a v e a d i f f e r e n t p r e s e n t a t i v e o r p e r c e p t i v e

u n i t y w h i c h i s e m i n e n t l y q u a l i t a t i v e i n n a t u r e . T h e s e t y p e s o f q u a l i t a t iv e p a r t s l ie

b o t h a t t h e l e v e l o f t h e m i c r o - a n d m a c r o s t r u c t u r e o f t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n .

A t t h e macrostructural l e v e l t h e y c o r r e s p o n d t o t h e qualitative differences

a m o n g ' p r e s e n t ' , ' p a s t ' a n d ' f u t u r e ' . A b o v e I 0 0 , 1 2 0 m s e c , q u a li t at i v e

p e r c e p t i o n s o c c u r a s a r e s u l t o f t h e p r o l o n g a t i o n o f t h e i n t e rv a l s b e y o n d t h e l i m i t s

o f p e r c e p t i o n o f a s i m p l e d i s c o n t in u o u s c h a n g e [ K a t z 1 9 0 6 ; B e n u s s i 1 9 0 7 ;

S c h u l t z e 1 9 0 8 ]. T h i s p a r t it i o n c o n c e r n s th e m a c r o s t r u c t u r e o f t h e p r e s e n t a n d o f

i ts f r i n g e s o r ' t e m p o r a l h a l o ' [ J a m e s 1 9 5 0 ]: i t s p e r c e p t i v e d u r a t i o n l a s t s a r o u n d

7 0 0 m s e c . F i v e t y p e s o f a b so l u t e i m p r e s s i o n o f d u r a t i o n c a n b e d i s t i n g u i s h e d , t h e

d i s ti n c t iv e c h a r a c t e r is t i c o f w h i c h i s th a t t h e y a r e a p p r e h e n d e d i n a s o m e h o w

u n i t a ry , n o n - a n a l y t ic m a n n e r . T h e y c a n b e t e rm e d ' s m a l l ' ( a b o u t 2 0 0 m s e c ) ,


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' i n d e t e r m i n a t e ( a b o u t 6 0 0 r e s e t ) , l ar g e ( f r o m 1 0 0 0 t o 2 0 0 0 m s e c ) , e x t r e m e l y

l a r g e ' ( o v e r 2 0 0 0 m s e c ) [ B e n u s s i 1 9 13 ; B o n a v e n t u r a 1 9 2 9 ; A l b e r t a z z i 1 9 9 3 d ,

1 9 9 3 e , 1 9 9 4 a ] . I n d e t e r m i n a t e d u r a t i o n s c o r r e s p o n d t o th e p r e s e n t .

T h e s e q u a l i t a t i v e d i f f e r e n c e s o f d u r a t i o n p r o d u c e c o n s i d e r a b l e d i f f e r e n c e s

a m o n g p e r c e p t i o n s o f c o r r e l a t e s . O u t s i d e t h i s s t r e t c h o f t i m e t h e d i s t i n c t i o n i s

c l c a r c u t : t h e c o r r e l a t e s n o l o n g e r h a v e a f e a t u r e o f p r e s e n c e , a n d t h e

p r e s e n t a t i o n s h a v e a n u n e q u i v o c a l ' c h a r a c te r o f p a s tn e s s ( m e m o r i e s ) .

T h e s e c o n d t y p e o f q u a l i ta t i v e p a r t o f t h e p r e se n t a t i o n r e l a t e s t o t h e

m i c r o s t r u c t u r e o f t h e a c t a n d c o n c e r n s t h e p h e n o m e n a o f t e m p o r a l d i s l o c a t io n

c o n s i d e r e d a b o v e .

A s w e h a v e s e e n , t h e 3 m s e c o f t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f a g r o u p o f l e t t e r s t o t h e

t a c h i s t o s c o p e a r e e n d o w e d w i t h a c e r t a in

elasticity;

t h e y h a v e a c e r t a i n t e m p o r a l

e x t e n d a b i li t y . I n f a c t, w h i l e t h e 3 m s e c c o r r e s p o n d t o t h e m i n i m u m t i m e o f t h e

t h r e s h o ld o f p e r c e p t ib i l it y , t he I 0 0 m s e c c o r r e s p o n d t o t h e m a x i m u m t i m e o f t h i s

t h r e s h o l d , w h i c h n o n e t h e l e s s r e t a in s i ts c h a r a c t e r o f s i m u l t a n e o u s p e r c e p t i o n .

B e c a u s e 1 0 0 m s e c l a s t l o n g e r t h a n 3 r e s e t , t h e y r e q u i r e t h e t a c h i s t o s c o p e s c r e e n

t o f a l l m o r e s l o w l y , b u t t h e r e i s s t il l n o a n a ly t i c a l p e r c e p t i o n o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l

e l e m e n t s i n t e r n a l l y t o t h e m .

W e s h a l l t h e r e f o re d e f i n e a s u n i t s o f p h e n o m e n i c t im e t h o s e t e m p o r a l

e x t e n s i o n s w h i c h h a v e a m a x i m u m e x t e n si o n o f a r o u n d 1 0 0 - 1 2 0 m s e c . T h e i r

d i s t i n c t i v e f e a t u r e , a s w e h a v e s e e n , i s th a t b e l o w 1 0 0 m s e c t h e r e i s n o l o n g e r a

c o r r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e r e a l o r d e r o f s u c c e s s i o n o f t h e p h y s i c a l s t im u l i a n d t h e

o r d e r o f t h e e v e n t s p e r c e iv e d , w h i c h , m o r e o v e r , r e m a i n a b o v e t h e m a x i m u m

t h r e s h o ld o f m i n i m u m p e r c e pt ib i li ty .

A p a r t i c u l a r p a r t i t i o n o f t h e m i c r o s t r u c t u r e i s t h a t o f e m p t y i n t e r v a l s

I n t e r v a ls o f 5 0 m s e c a re c a l le d v o i d ' b e c a u s e t h e y d o n o t c o n t a i n a n y f o r m o f

s p e c i f i c s e n s a t i o n [ B o n a v e n t u r a 1 9 1 9 ; A l b e rt a z z i 1 9 9 4 a ] . M o r e o v e r , t h i s k i n d o f

c h a n g e s h o w s t h a t p e r c e p t i v e c h a n g e i s a p p r e h e n d e d d i s c r e t e l y , d i s c o n t i n u o u s l y

( c o n s i d e r t h e t r i l l ) s o t h a t i t i s e v i d e n t t h a t t h e v a r i o u s s e n s o r y i n t u i t i v e c o n t e n t s

a r e u n i f i e d b y t h e f u n c t i o n s o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s . L e t u s t a k e t h e c a s e o f h e a r i n g , t h e

p e r c e p t i v e t h r e s h o l d o f w h i c h r a n g e s b e t w e e n 2 a n d 1 6 n~ sc c. I f w e e s t a b l i s h t h e

i n t e rv a l

s o u n d - 5 0 m s e c p au s e - s o u n d

j u s t a b o v e t h e t h r e s h o l d o f s u c c e s s / o n , t h e s u b j e c t p e r c e i v e s t h a t t h e r e i s n o

s e n s o r y c o n t e n t f i l l i n g th e i n t e r va l .

T h e s a m e h a p p e n s i f t h e in t e rv a l i s p r o l o n g e d b y 5 0 m s e c t o 8 0 o r 1 0 0 m s e c .

O n l y a f t e r 1 2 0 m s e c i s th e i n te r v a l p e r c e i v e d a s a c o n t e n t d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e

s e n s a t i o n s t h a t d e l i m i t ' i t, b e c a u s e i t is f i ll e d , f o r e x a m p l e , b y b r e a t h i n g

s e n s a t i o n s .

T a k e t h is f u r t h e r e x a m p l e :


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s o u n d - I 0 0 m s e c p a u s e - s o u n d

I n t h is c a s e , b e f o r e t h e o n s e t o f t h e s e c o n d s o u n d t h e s u b j e c t e x p e r i e n c e s 1 0 m s e c

o f c o n s e c u t i v e i m a g e a n d 9 0 m s e c o f s e n s o r y v o id .

I f i n st e a d w e h a v e :

s o u n d - 2 0 m s e c p a u s e - s o u n d

t h e d e li m i t i n g s o u n d s f o l lo w e a c h o t h e r a t a s p e e d j u s t a b o v e t h e t h r e s h o ld o f

s u c c e s s i o n t r i l l ) .

A l s o

temporal judgements

a r e o f o u t s t a n d in g i m p o ~ m c e i n t h e t e m p o r a l

p a r t i t i o n o f t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n ; a t o p i c a d d r e s s e d b y m o s t o f t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l

p s y c h o l o g i s t s o f th e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y [ W u n d t , K o l l e r t , E s te i , M e h n e r , S t e v e n s ,

K a s t e n n h o l z , M e u m a n n , B e n u s s i , B o n a v e n t u r a , e tc .] .

L a b o r a t o r y e x p e r i m e n t s s h o w t h a t th e p r e ci s io n o f c o m p a r a t i v e j u d g e m e n t s i s

e x t r e m e l y h i g h i n t h e c a s e o f i n t e r v a l s l a s t i n g b e t w e e n 7 0 0 a n d 7 5 0 m s e c . F o r

l a r g e r i n t e r v a l s , f r o m 2 0 0 0 t o 3 0 0 0 m s e c , a d i f f e r e n t q u a l i t a t i v e a t t i t u d e o f

s y n t h e s i s a p p e a r s , b y m e a n s o f w h i c h t h e e le m e n t s o f t h e s u c c e s s i o n a r e

a p p r e h e n d e d a s i f t h e y w e r e p a r t o f a s i ng l e t e m p o r a l e v e n t. T h e m a x i m u m

d e g r e e o f p r e c i s i o n i n t h e se d u r a t i o n s va r i e s a r o u n d 2 1 5 0 - 2 5 0 0 m s e c . I n t h e c a s e

o f d u r a t i o n s s h o r t e r t h a n 6 5 0 m s c c , i n s te a d , w h e n a n e f f o r t o f a n a l y s i s i s m a d e i n

o r d e r t o a p p r e h e n d t h e i n te r v al s e p a r a t i n g t h e d e li m i t in g s e n s a t i o n s w h i c h m o r e

r a p i d ly l o i l o w e a c h o t h e r , t h e m a x i m u m d e g r e e o f p re c i s io n o c c u r s b e t w o e n 3 5 0

a n d 4 0 0 m s e c .

F r o m a t h e o r e t ic a l p o i n t o f v i e w , t h e re a r e t w o i m p o r t a n t f e a t u r e s i n v o l v e d

h e r e : i ) th e f a c t th a t t h e o v e r a l l m a x i m u m d e g r e e o f p r e c i s i o n o c c u r s i n

i n d e t e rm i n a t e d u r a t i o n s c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e p s y c h i c p r e s e n t 7 0 0 m s e c

a p p r o x i m a t e l y ) ; i i) t h e r e su l t s o b t a i n e d f r o m a n a l y s i s o f t h e v a r i a b i l i t y

c o n d i t i o n s . T h e s e l a t t e r a r e o f t w o t y p e s : A . t h o s e t h a t d e p e n d o n t h e n a t u r e o f

t h e temporal ser ies; B . t h o s e t h a t d e p e n d o n t h e n a t u r e o f t h e presentative

content

T h e f i r s t c a s e A ) i n v o l v e s i ) t h e a c t i o n o f th e d i v e r s e p o s i t i o n o f t h e i n t e r v a l s

i n t h e t e m p o r a l s e r i e s b e f o r e o r a f t e r ) a n d i i) th e e f f e c t o f t h e p a u s e . T h e s e c o n d

c a s e B ) i n v o l v e s i ) th e a c t i o n o f t h e d i f f e r i n g f i ll in g s o f t h e i n t e r v a l s a n d i i) t h e

e f f e c t o f t h e d i f f e r e n t n a t u r e o f t h e d e l i m i t i n g s e n s a ti o n s .


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the not ion of secondary consciousness as object less consciousness , the s ta te of

ev idence o r pu re unders t and ing wh ich a lways accompan ies i t s coun te rpa r t bu t

wh ich i s nonetheless identi fiable in i tse l f by means o f the pa rt icular inst rument of

sugge st ion . Even mo re speci f ical ly , the pure in te llec t ive and emot ional funct ions

have as thei r corre la te a presenta t ional 'conten t ' , not 'obje cts ' [M arbe 1901; Ach

1905; Btihler 1907-8].

In th is manner, furthermore, secondary consciousness i s expla ined as

consc iousness o f func t ions (no t o f ob j ec t s ) , and spec i f i ca l l y o f two types o f

funct ions: in te i lec t ive (doubt, assert ion , neg at ion , e tc . ) and emot ional (w el l -being,

rage, une ase , e tc . ) . Ext inguishing thought (or bet ter , the objects ' of thought)

does no t m ean ex t ingu i sh ing the sense o f t he con tinu i ty o f t hough t ( secondary

consc iousne ss) . This aspect of m ateria l ontology for .some aspects w as dev eloped

by Husseri wi th in h is theory of dual in tent ional i ty [Husserl 1966; Albertazzi

liliana albertazzi -- thepsychological whole. i- the temporal parts of presentation

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