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Reflections in a Mirror
Reflections in a Mirror

Author(s): Damian Cox
Subject(s): Philosophy
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: mirror-reversal; perception; cognition; philosophical psychology; cognitive bias

Summary/Abstract: In this paper, I develop a solution to the puzzle of mirror perception: why do mirrors appear to reverse the image of an object along a left/right axis and not around other axes, such as the top/bottom axis? I set out the different forms the puzzle takes and argue that one form of it – arguably the key form – has not been satisfactorily solved. I offer a solution in three parts: setting out the conditions in which an apparent left/right reversal of mirror images is generated; explaining why these conditions are so often met; explaining why we are cognitively biased towards the perception of left/right reversal when these conditions are met.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 41
  • Page Range: 1-12
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: English