Twelve Examples of Illusion

Westerhoff, Jan:
Twelve examples of illusion = སྒྱུ་མའི་དཔེ་བཅུ་གཉིས་/ Jan Westerhoff. - New York : Oxford University Press, 2010. - 208 S. [Paralleltitel in tibet. Schr.]
ISBN 978-0-19-538735-3
US$ 29,95
DDC: 294.342
-- Angekündigt für September 2010 --

Beschreibung
Tibetan Buddhist writings frequently state that many of the things we perceive in the world are in fact illusory, as illusory as echoes or mirages. In Twelve Examples of Illusion, Jan Westerhoff offers an engaging look at a dozen illusions - including magic tricks, dreams, rainbows, and reflections in a mirror - showing how these phenomena can give us insight into reality. For instance, he offers a fascinating discussion of optical illusions, such as the wheel of fire (the "wheel" seen when a torch is swung rapidly in a circle), discussing Tibetan explanations of this phenomenon as well as the findings of modern psychology, and significantly clarifying the idea that most phenomena - from chairs to trees - are similar illusions. The book uses a variety of crystal-clear examples drawn from a wide variety of fields, including contemporary philosophy and cognitive science, as well as the history of science, optics, artificial intelligence, geometry, economics, and literary theory. Throughout, Westerhoff makes both Buddhist philosophical ideas and the latest theories of mind and brain come alive for the general reader. [Verlagsinformation]

Inhalt
Introduction. 3
1. Magic. 9
2. The Moon in the Water. 23
3. A Visual Distortion. 41
4. A Mirage. 56
5. A Dream. 69
6. An Echo. 83
7. The City of Gandharvas. 95
8. An Optical illusion. 110
9. Rainbows. 122
10. Lightning. 135
11. Water bubbles. 150
12. A reflection in a mirror. 161
References and Further Reading. 175
Review of Twelve Examples of Illusion. 189
Credits. 193
Index. 197

Autor

JAN WESTERHOFF is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Durham and Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is the author of Ontological Categories, Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka: A Philosophical Introduction and The Dispeller of Disputes: Nagarjuna's Vigrahavyavartani. Homepage; Faculty profile.

Quellen: Oxford University Press (USA); WorldCat; Library of Congress; Google Books; Amazon