Abstract
It is commonly believed that human perceptual experiences can be, and usually are, multimodal. What is more, a stronger thesis is often proposed that some perceptual multimodal characters cannot be described simply as a conjunction of unimodal phenomenal elements. If it is the case, then a question arises: what is the additional mode of combination that is required to adequately describe the phenomenal structure of multimodal experiences? The paper investigates what types of audio–visual experiences have phenomenal character that cannot be analysed as a mere conjunction of visual and auditory elements; and how can we properly characterise the required, additional mode of perceptual combination. Three main modes of combination are considered: (a) instantiation, (b) parthood, and (c) grouping. It is argued that some phenomena involving intermodal relations, like spatial and temporal ventriloquism, can be analysed in terms of audio–visual, perceptual grouping. On the other hand, cases of intermodal binding need a different treatment. Experiences involving audio–visual binding should be analysed as experiences presenting objects or events which instantiate, or which have a proper part instantiating, both visually and auditorily determined properties.
Highlights
Conjunctive multimodality and beyondI assume that there exist human multimodal perceptual experiences, including audio–visual ones, whose phenomenal character can be described as a conjunction of unimodal phenomenal elements
In contemporary philosophy of perception, it is commonly believed that human perceptual experiences can be, and usually are, multimodal
The goal of this paper is to investigate the following questions: (a) what types of audio–visual experiences have phenomenal character that cannot be analysed as a mere conjunction of visual and auditory elements; and (b) how can we properly characterise the required, additional mode of perceptual combination? I focus on audio–visual experiences, as there is a rich empirical literature which may help to determine the proper mode of combination and there are already interesting philo‐ sophical proposals regarding audio–visual consciousness that can serve as a basis for a discussion (e.g., O’Callaghan 2014b, 2015a, b; Macpherson 2011; Matthen 2010)
Summary
I assume that there exist human multimodal perceptual experiences, including audio–visual ones, whose phenomenal character can be described as a conjunction of unimodal phenomenal elements. One may try to resist the above conclusion by stating that elements associated with different modalities cannot co-occur within an experience without standing in some spatial and temporal relation, and so the notion of conjunctive multimodality already accommodates the presence of intermodal relations According to this view, intermodal relations constitute that which accrues thanks to simple co-consciousness, as stated in definitions of Minimal Multimodality and Conjunctive Multimodality. 5 and 6, I analyse how intermodal binding should be understood, for instance whether it should be characterised in terms of instantiation, parthood relation, or perceptual grouping It seems that one may have an experience of a ball hitting a sur‐ face involving visual elements (like a ball and a surface) and auditory elements (like a sound generated by the impact). I argue that both intermodal relations and intermodal binding occur in the case of human audio–visual experiences and that not all such experiences are conjunctively multimodal
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