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What are we doing when we perceive numbers?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2021

Max Jones Open the ORCID record for Max Jones [Opens in a new window] ,
Karim Zahidi  and
Daniel D. Hutto
Max Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol, Cotham House, Cotham Hill, Bristol BS6 6JL, UK. max.jones@bristol.ac.uk; http://www.maxjonesphilosophy.com/
Karim Zahidi
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium. karim.zahidi@uantwerpen.be; https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/staff/karim-zahidi/
Daniel D. Hutto
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. ddhutto@uow.edu.au; https://scholars.uow.edu.au/display/daniel_d_hutto
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Abstract

Clarke and Beck rightly contend that the number sense allows us to directly perceive number. However, they unnecessarily assume a representationalist approach and incur a heavy theoretical cost by invoking “modes of presentation.” We suggest that the relevant evidence is better explained by adopting a radical enactivist approach that avoids characterizing the approximate number system (ANS) as a system for representing number.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 44 , 2021 , e193
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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