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Sensory Substitution is Substitution
Author(s) -
Martin JeanRémy,
Le Corre François
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
mind and language
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.905
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1468-0017
pISSN - 0268-1064
DOI - 10.1111/mila.12078
Subject(s) - sensory substitution , substitution (logic) , perception , phenomenology (philosophy) , modality (human–computer interaction) , sensory system , cognitive science , cognitive psychology , psychology , stimulus modality , computer science , epistemology , philosophy , artificial intelligence , programming language
Sensory substitution devices ( SSDs ) make use of one substituting modality (e.g. touch) to get access to environmental information normally accessed through another modality (e.g. vision). Based on behavioural and neuroimaging data, some authors have claimed that using a vision‐substituting device results in visual perception. Reviewing these data, we contend that this claim is untenable. We argue (i) that the kind of information processed by a SSD is metamodal, so that it can be accessed through any sensory modality and (ii) that the phenomenology associated with the use of a SSD is best described in terms of spatial phenomenology, only.