Perceptual Imagination as Anticipation in Helmholtz : Critical and Metacritical Dimensions in Helmholtz's Account of Human Vision

This paper takes Hermann von Helmholtz's (1821-1894) psychophysiological theory of perception as a point of departure in examining the conditions of possibility for the process of objectification. It is argued that the epistemological framework of Helmholtz's optics can be analyzed transcendentally on two levels of analysis, namely critical and metacritical. Both levels are concerned with the way in which objectivity is constituted, but while the former is concerned with the imposition of structure by our cognitive organization, the latter deals with the constitutional role of constraint. It is demonstrated how this general epistemological strategy could also help structuring the questions involved in accounting for the internal models that necessarily underlie the activity of anticipation. More specifically, this paper argues that Helmholtz's work could provide some powerful insights into the notion of 'constraint', that is considered to be crucial in accounting for the ability for anticipation.