First version as originally submitted

Rejected - or maybe not?

Revised version after first review

Cover letter for resubmission

The major difference between the original and the revised version is that the reviewers listed an extraordinary quantity of literature that "at a minimum" had to be cited and integrated into the argument!

There they are! Ten (10) whole books, seven (7) chapters from books, and ten (10) papers, (one recommended by the editor), 27 references in all! And there's my notebook in the foreground with 138 pages of hand-written notes from all the books in that stack!

Of course there was zero overlap between the "absolutely essential" literature recommended by the two reviewers! This kind of shot-gun citation demand is a defense mechanism used by reviewers who disapprove of a paper but cannot articulate their objections, so they just rattle off all this literature to discourage resubmission. You can tell that there is a problem when they don't bother to mention which issues in those works need to be addressed! But I got all this crap from the library, and spent MONTHS poring through it all. Most of it was (surprise surprise!) totally irrelevant, but I managed to CITE IT ALL ANYWAYS! And what will happen now? Of course the reviewers will now complain that the paper is too long!

I made the most of this reviewer hazing ritual by writing a whole new section in the paper called "A History of the Epistemological Debate" in which I follow the tortured history of the epistemological question, documenting the powerful human inclination to favor a naive realist view. This section is rather interesting, and when this paper gets finally rejected (as it almost certainly will!) I will submit this section alone as a review article someplace.

Of course this review of the epistemological question required reference to a list of my own list of citations, which included at the end of this page. Here is the full list of references demanded by the reviewers.

Citations Demanded by Reviewers

Bizzi E. Mussa-Ivaldi, F. A., Ghez, C., Krakauer J. W. (et al). (2000) "Motor systems." IN: The new cognitive neurosciences (2nd ed.). Michael S. Gazzaniga, Ed; et al.The Mit Press, Cambridge, MA, US. 2000. p. 489-618 of xiv, 1419 pp.

Bizzi E., Mussa-Ivaldi F. A. (1995) "Toward a neurobiology of coordinate transformations." IN:The cognitive neurosciences. Michael S. Gazzaniga, Ed; et al.The Mit Press, Cambridge, MA, USA. p. 495-506 of xiv, 1447 pp.

Broad (1925) The Mind and its Place in Nature. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Dornay, Menashe; Mussa-Ivaldi, Ferdinando A.; McIntyre, Joseph; Bizzi, Emilio. Stability constraints for the distributed control of motor behavior. Neural Networks,1993, v6 (n8):1045-1059. BU SCI QA 76.5 N434 CNS

Dretske F. I. (1995) "Naturalizing the mind." MIT Press.

Feigl H. (1958) The Mental and the Physical. Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 2, H. Feigl & M. Scriven (Eds.) Minneapolis Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.

Finke, R. A., Pinker S., Farah M. J. (1989) "Reinterpreting visual patterns in mental imagery. Cognitive Science, 13 (1):51-78.

Flanagan O. (1992) Consciousness reconsidered. MIT Press

Gregory R. L. (1981) Mind in Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hollerbach J. M. (1990) "Fundamentals of Motor Behavior." IN: Visual Cognition and Action: An invitation to cognitive science, Vol. 2. D. N. Osherson & S. M. Kosslyn (Eds) Cambridge MA: The Mit Press 153-182

Kim, JAEGWON (1998) Mind in a physical world. MIT Press.

Kosslyn, S. M.; Behrmann, M.; Jeannerod, M. The cognitive neuroscience of mental imagery. Neuropsychologia, 1995 Nov, v33 (n11):1335-1344.

Kosslyn, Stephen M. (1984) "Mental imagery." IN:Visual cognition: An invitation to cognitive science, Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Stephen M. Kosslyn, Ed; Daniel N. Osherson, Ed; et al.The Mit Press, Cambridge, MA, USA. 1995. p. 267-296 of xiii, 363 pp.

Llinas R. R. & Pare D. (1991) Of Dreaming and Wakefulness. Neuroscience 44 (3) 521-535.

McIntyre J., Bizzi E. (1993) "Servo hypotheses for the biological control of movement." Journal of Motor Behavior, 25 (3):193-202.

Mellet, E.; Tzourio-Mazoyer, N.; Bricogne, S.; Mazoyer, B.; and others. Functional anatomy of high-resolution visual mental imagery. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2000Jan, v12 (n1):98-109.

Pinker, Steven. A computational theory of the mental imagery medium. IN:Cognitive and neuropsychological approaches to mental imagery. Michel Denis, Ed; Johannes Engelkamp, Ed; et al.Martinus Nijhoff Publishing, Dordrecht, Netherlands. 1988. p. 17-32 of xvii, 426 pp.

Pylyshyn, Zenon. Visual indexes in spatial vision imagery. IN:Visual attention. Richard D. Wright, Ed; et al.Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. 1998. p. 215-231 of 478 pp.

Pylyshyn, Zenon W. The imagery debate: Analogue media versus tacit knowledge. IN:Readings in cognitive science:A perspective from psychology and artificial intelligence. Allan M. Collins, Ed; Edward E. Smith, Ed; et al. Morgan Kaufmann, Inc, San Mateo, CA, USA. 1988. p. 600-614 of ix, 661 pp.

Pylyshyn, Zenon W. The imagery debate: Analogue media versus tacit knowledge. Psychological Review, 1981 Jan, v88 (n1):16-45.

Ramachandran V. S. & Blakeslee S. (1998) "Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the mysteries of the human mind." New York: William Morrow.

Schilder, Paul (1950) "The Image and Appearance of the Human Body; Studies in the constructive energies of the psyche." New York: International University Press.

Schilder, Paul (1942) "Mind: Perception and Thought in their Constructive Aspects" New York: Columbia University Press.

Smart J. J. C. (1959) Sensations and Brain Processes. Philosophical Review 68, 141-156.

Smythies J. (1953) The experience and description of the human body. Brain, 76; 132-148.

Smythies J. (1994) Requiem for the Identity Theory. Inquiry, 37, 311-329

Smythies J. (1999) Consciousness: Some basic issues - a neurophysiological perspective. Consciousness & Cognition 8, 164-172.

Smythies & Ramachandran (1998) An empirical refutation of the Direct Realist theory of perception. Inquiry, 40, 437-438).

Tye M. (1995) "Ten problems of consciousness." MIT Press

Vernon M. D. (1952) A Further Study of Visual Perception. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.

And here is the list of references that I considered essential to a review of the epistemological question. Its all in the new version of the paper!

Citations for Review of Epistemology

Adams R. M. (1987) Flavors, Colors, and God. In The Virtue of Faith and Other Essays in Philosophical Theology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Bisiach E. & Luzzatti C. (1978) Unilateral Neglect of Representational Space. Cortex 14, 129-133.

Bisiach E., Luzzatti C., & Perani D. (1979) Unilateral Neglect, Representational Schema and Consciousness. Brain 102, 609-618.

Block N. (1981) Imagery. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.

Boring E. G. (1933) The Dimensions of Consciousness. New York: Dover.

Boring E. G. (1950) A History of Experimental Psychology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Churchland P. M. (1981) Eliminative Materialism and the Propositional Attitudes. Journal of Philosophy 78, 67-90.

Churchland P. S. (1983) Consciousness: The Transmutation of a Concept. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 64, 80-93.

Davidson D. (1970) Mental Events. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Denis M. & Cocude M. (1989) Scanning Visual Images Generated from Verbal Descriptions. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology 1, 293-307.

Dennett D. C. (1981) The Nature of Images and the Introspective Trap. In N. Block (Ed.) Imagery, Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 51-61.

Drake D., Lovejoy A. O., Pratt J. B., Rogers A. K., Santayana G., Sellars R. W., & Strong C. A. (1920) Essays in Critical Realism: A co-operative study of the problem of knowledge. New York: Gordian Press.

Cabanis P. J. G. (1802) Rapports du Physique et du Moral de L'Homme. In G. S. Brett (Ed. 1921) History of Psychology II, p. 375-382.

Chalmers, D. J. (1995) Facing Up to the Problems of Consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies 2 (3) 200-219. Reprinted in "Toward a Science of Consciousness II, The Second Tucson Discussions and Debates". (1996) S. R. Hameroff, A. W. Kaszniak, & A. C. Scott (Eds.) Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 5-28.

Denny-Brown D. & Chambers R. A. (1958) The Parietal Lobe and Behavior. A. Res Nerv Ment Dis 36, 35-117.

de Renzi E. (1982) Disorders of Space Exploration and Cognition. New York: John Wiley.

Fodor J. A. (1981) Imagistic Representation. In N. Block (Ed.) Imagery, Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 63-86.

Heilman K. M. & Watson R. T. (1977) The Neglect Syndrome - A unilateral defect of the orienting response. In S. Harnad, R. W. Doty, L. Goldstein, J. Jaynes, & G. Krauthamer (Eds.) Lateralization in the Nervous System. New York: Academic Press.

Heilman K. M., Watson R. T., & Valenstein E. (1985) Neglect and Related Disorders. In K. M. Heilman & E. Valenstein (Eds.) Clinical Neuropsychology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Holt E. B., Marvin W. T., Montague W. P., Perry R. B., Pitkin W. B., & Spaulding E. G. (1912) The New Realism. New York: The MacMillan Co.

Köhler W. (1924) Die physischen Gestalten in Ruhe und im Stationären Zustand: Eine naturphilosophische Untersuchung. Erlangen: Verlag der Philosophichen Akadamie.

Kosslyn S. M. (1975) Information Representation in Visual Images. Cognitive Psychology 7, 341-370.

Kosslyn S. M. (1981) The Medium and the Message in Mental Imagery. In N. Block (Ed.) Imagery, Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 207-244.

Kosslyn S., Ball T., & Reisner B. (1978) Visual Images Preserve Metric Spatial Information: Evidence of studies from image scanning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance 4, 47-60.

Ladavas E., Berti A., Ruozzi E., & Barboni F. (1997) Neglect as a Deficit Determined by an Imbalance Between Spatial Representations. Experimental Brain Research 116, 493-500.

La Metrie (1748) L'Homme Machine. In G. S. Brett (Ed. 1921) History of Psychology II, p. 358.

Locke J. (1690/1959) An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. 2 Vols. A. C. Fraser (Ed.) Oxford UK: Clarendon. Reprinted 1959 New York: Dover.

Lovejoy A. O. (1930) The Revolt Against Dualism: An inquiry concerning the existence of ideas. W. W. Norton & Co.

Malebranche N. (1880) De la Recharche de la Verite. Vol 2 (Edition of Bouillier 1880) Paris: Garnier.

Marshall J. C. & Halligan P. W. (1995) Seeing the Forest but only Half the Trees? Nature 373, 521-523.

McFie J. & Zangwill O. L. (1960) Visual-Constructive Disabilities Associated with Lesions of the Left Cerebral Hemisphere. Brain 83, 243-260.

McGinn C. (1989) Can We Solve the Mind-Body Problem?" Mind 98, 349-366.

Nagel T. (1974) What Is It Like to Be a Bat? Philosophical Review 83 435-450

Pastore N. (1971) Selective History of Theories of Visual Perception: 1650-1950. New York: Oxford University Press.

Popper K. & Eccles J. (1977) The Self and Its Brain. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Putnam H. (1968) Psychological Predicates. In Putnam H. (Ed.) Collected Papers II. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.

Putnam H. (1975) The Nature of Mental States. In Putnam H. (Ed.) Collected Papers II. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.

Pylyshyn Z. (1981) The Imagery Debate. In N. Block (Ed.) Imagery, Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 151-206.

Pylyshyn Z. (1988) The Imagery Debate: Analog Media Versus Tacit Knowledge. In: A. M. Collins & E. E. Smith (Eds.) Readings in Cognitive Science: A perspective from psychology and artificial intelligence. San Mateo CA: Morgan Kaufmann Inc. 600-614.

Russell B. (1921) The Analysis of Mind. New York: MacMilan; London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

Russell B. (1927) Philosophy. New York: W. W. Norton.

Schwartz R. (1981) There's More To It Than Meets the Eye. In N. Block (Ed.) Imagery, Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 109-130.

Sellars R. W. (1916) Critical Realism: A study of the nature and conditions of knowledge. New York: Russell & Russell.

Sellars W. (1963) Philosophy and the Scientific Image of Man. In: W. Sellars (Ed.) Science, Perception, and Reality. New York: The Humanities Press.

Shepard R. N. & Metzler J. (1971) Mental Rotation of Three-Dimensional Objects. Science 171 (972) 701-701.

Swinburne R. (1984) Personal Identity: The Dualist Theory. In S. Shoemaker & R. Swinburne (Eds.) Personal Identity. Oxford: Blackwell.

Vallar G. (1998) Spatial Hemineglect in Humans. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 2 (3) 87-96.

There gentlemen, is that enough references for you?

Final Rejection