The Project Gutenberg EBook of An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision, by
George Berkeley

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Title: An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision

Author: George Berkeley

Posting Date: June 29, 2009 [EBook #4722]
Release Date: December, 2003
First Posted: March 7, 2002

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAY--NEW THEORY OF VISION ***

Produced by Col Choat. HTML version by Al Haines.

An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision

by

George Berkeley (1685-1753)

CONTENTS

Sect.

1 Design
2 Distance of itself invisible
3 Remote distance perceived rather by experience than by sense
4 Near distance thought to be perceived by the ANGLE of the
OPTIC AXES
5 Difference between this and the former manner of perceiving
distance
6 Also by diverging rays
7 This depends not on experience
8 These the common accounts, but not satisfactory
9 Some IDEAS perceived by the mediation of others
10 No IDEA which is not itself perceived, can be the means of
perceiving another
11 Distance perceived by means of some other IDEA
12 Those lines and angles mentioned in optics, are not themselves
perceived
13 Hence the mind does not perceive distance by lines and angles
14 Also because they have no real existence
15 And because they are insufficient to explain the phenomena
16 The IDEAS that suggest distance are, 1st, the sensation arising
from the turn of the eyes
17 Betwixt which and distance there is no necessary connection
18 Scarce room for mistake in this matter
19 No regard had to the angle of the OPTIC AXES
20 Judgment of distance made with both eyes, the result of EXPERIENCE
21 2ndly, Confusedness of appearance
22 This the occasion of those judgments attributed to diverging rays
23 Objection answered
24 What deceives the writers of optics in this matter
25 The cause why one IDEA may suggest another
26 This applied to confusion and distance
27 Thirrdly, the straining of the eye
28 The occasions which s