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184410

(1972) The study of time, Dordrecht, Springer.

The measurement of perceptual durations

Robert Efron

pp. 207-218

It is often claimed that consciousness is immeasurable because it has no attributes such as mass, extension, charge, etc., which can be quantified in physical units. For this reason some philosophers have referred to it, pejoratively, as "the ghost in the machine".It will be argued that consciousness can be quantified with respect to time and that the "ghost in the machine" can, in fact, be measured. Recent experiments in which visual and auditory perceptions were measured accurately will be described. The results of these measurements and the theoretical framework used to account for them permit a novel interpretation of a number of time-dependent perceptual phenomena. One of these phenomena will be demonstrated.

Publication details

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-65387-2_15

Full citation:

Efron, R. (1972)., The measurement of perceptual durations, in J. T. Fraser, F. C. Haber & G. H. Müller (eds.), The study of time, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 207-218.

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