From constancy and polyfunctionality in perception to the transcendental psychology approach: historical overview of...

This paper presents an overview of a novel approach called Transcendental Psychology Methodology (TPM), largely inspired by Bach-y-Rita's work and developed by A.I. Mirakyan (1929-1995) and his associates. Beginning with the perceptual constancy problem, in which stimuli do not change perceptually despite variations in their physical characteristics, Mirakyan recognized that contemporary accounts of constancy included both theoretical contradictions and empirical discrepancies. This led him to propose TPM as an alternative to the traditional Product Basis Paradigm (PBP). Whilst PBP focuses upon perceptual phenomena, TPM focuses upon the underlying processes and upon the principles that support the flexibility needed to create complex, coherent representations under different stimulus conditions. The central idea that generative perceptual processes may be universal is grounded in Bach-y-Rita's famous experiments and has important parallels with present day conceptions of the construction of meaning in neurophysiological process. TPM inspired studies of a wide range of perceptual phenomena have so far suggested basic principles that can be applied to all perceptual processes, regardless of their modality. Its new conception of the perception of spatial extent can contribute to our understanding of the visual effects that Bach-y-Rita's blind subjects experience and it may provide a useful general tool for uncovering the psychological principles behind Bach-y-Rita's findings. Because of its axiomatic approach and its focus upon universal, generative processes, TPM may also be useful in other disciplines, e.g., in providing a line between neurophysiological and psychological levels of investigation. It may ultimately serve as a general theory of how sensory experience is created.