Links between active perception and the control of action
pp. 269-295
in: Hermann Haken, Michael Stadler (eds), Synergetics of cognition, Berlin, Springer, 1990Abstract
A synergy is taken to refer to independent things acting together to produce an ordered macroscopic state. It is argued that perception and action act synergistically, with the macroscopic state being the perceiving-acting cycle. This perspective entails a rethinking of perception along the lines suggested by J. J. Gibson: the appropriate observables are at the ecologicalscale (i.e., they are intrinsically coarse); the appropriate organ of sensitivity is a perceptual system (not a receptor or nerve); and the appropriate treatment of information is as specificational (i.e., it is lawfully related to its source). With this reformulation, the idea of a perceiving-acting cycle is elaborated, especially with reference to the relationship among intentional states, exploratory states, and informational states. The basic theme is that perception constrains action which, in turn, 'sets up" perception. Examples of perceptually constrained exploratory and performatory activities are provided to illustrate the kinds of macroscopic variables that have been identified as being relevant to understanding perceiving-acting cycles.