Perceptual Variation in Object Perception: A Defense of Perceptual Pluralism

The basis of perception is the processing and categorization of perceptual stimuli from the environment. Much progress has been made in the science of per- ceptual categorization. Yet there is still no consensus on how the brain generates sensory individuals, from sensory input and perceptual categories in memory. This chapter argues that perceptual categorization is highly variable across perceivers due to their use of different perceptual strategies for solving perceptual problems they encounter, and that the perceptual system structurally adjusts to the strategies that are most successful. Despite this variability, the different sensory individuals that result when different perceivers rely on different strategies nonetheless correspond to actual external world objects/features. This view is called ‘perceptual pluralism’.