Specious present explained

The specious present is the time duration wherein one's perceptions are considered to be in the present.^[1]

Description

The term was coined by E. Robert Kelly,^[2] who wrote under the pseudonym "E. R. Clay".^[3] In The Alternative: A Study in Psychology (1882), he wrote:

The concept was further developed by philosopher William James. James defined the specious present to be "the prototype of all conceived times... the short duration of which we are immediately and incessantly sensible".^[4] C. D. Broad in "Scientific Thought" (1930) further elaborated on the concept of the specious present, arguing that it may be construed as the temporal equivalent of a sensory datum.

The specious present can be classed as a 'thick' conception of time perception, to be contrasted with 'thin' conceptions that see the present as instantaneous.^[5]

The concept raises some seemingly paradoxical problems. For example, Robin Le Poidevin notes that the specious present amounts to a duration in which events are both simultaneous and successive: "What we perceive, we perceive as present—as going on right now. Can we perceive a relation between two events without also perceiving the events themselves? If not, then it seems we perceive both events as present, in which case we must perceive them as simultaneous, and so not as successive after all."^[6]

References

• Andersen, Holly, and Rick Grush, "A brief history of time-consciousness: historical precursors to James and Husserl", To appear in the Journal of the History of Philosophy.
• Le Poidevin, Robin, "The Experience and Perception of Time", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2004 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
• Hodder, A. (1901). The adversaries of the sceptic; or, The specious present, a new inquiry into human knowledge. Chapter II, The Specious Present. London: S. Sonnenschein &. Pages 36 – 56.

Notes and References

1. Clay, E.R., cited in James, W. (1893). The principles of psychology. New York: H. Holt and Company. Page 609.
2. Anonymous (E. Robert Kelly), The Alternative: A Study in Psychology. London: Macmillan and Co.,1882.
3. Andersen, Holly . Rick Grush . A brief history of time-consciousness: historical precursors to James and Husserl . . 2008-02-02 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080216100320/http://mind.ucsd.edu/papers/bhtc/Andersen%26Grush.pdf . 2008-02-16.
4. James . William . 1886 . The Perception of Time . The Journal of Speculative Philosophy . 20 . 4 . 374–407 . 25668117 . JSTOR.
5. Web site: Dowden . Bradley . Time . 2024-07-08 . Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
6. Web site: Le Poidevin . Robin . 10 May 2019 . The Experience and Perception of Time . 2024-07-08 . The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.