University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 5-2020 Perceptual Characterization: On Perceptual Learning and Perspectival Sedimentation Anthony Holdier University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Cognitive Psychology Commons, and the Epistemology Commons Citation Holdier, A. (2020). Perceptual Characterization: On Perceptual Learning and Perspectival Sedimentation. Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3656 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Perceptual Characterization: On Perceptual Learning and Perspectival Sedimentation A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Philosophy by Anthony Holdier Colorado State University Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, 2009 Denver Seminary Master of Arts in Philosophy of Religion, 2012 May 2020 University of Arkansas This thesis is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. ________________________ Jack Lyons, Ph.D. Thesis Director ________________________ ________________________ Amanda McMullen, Ph.D. Eric Funkhouser, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member Abstract In her analysis of perspectival effects on perception, Susanna Siegel has argued that perceptual experience is directly rationally assessable and can thereby justify perceptual beliefs, save for in cases of epistemic downgrade or perceptual hijacking; I contend that the recalcitrance of known illusions poses an insurmountable problem for Siegel‘s thesis. In its place, I argue that a model of perceptual learning informed by the dual-aspect framework of base-level cognitive architecture proposed by Elisabeth Camp successfully answers the questions motivating Siegel‘s project in a manner that avoids such issues.