Mike Palij wrote: > >> Now if we could only cash out the fascinating insight of "affordances." :-) >> > > This is a frustrating concept but I believe that one way of thinking > about affordances is that it involves the perception of functional properties > of stimulus or environmental configuration that can be associated with > previous stimulus-action sequences.
Yes, of course, but "functional properties" are not the kinds of things that are "directly" (Gibson's word) perceived. They are perceived via mediation of knowledge of the organism's bodily dispositions, capacities, and needs. It is either a metaphor (in which case it is evocative, but not explanatory), or it needs to be explicated (to borrow one of the Logical Positivists' favorite terms). Interestingly, John Dewey probably did the best job of it in his classic article "The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology", back 50 years *before* Gibson coined the term: http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Dewey/reflex.htm Unfortunately, even it is not a wholly comprehensible account, so we've got some work to do yet. Best, Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ ========================== --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
