Why a perceptual zero-point amounts to nothing

Abstract

The concept of a “zero-point,” the bodily origin of the first-person perspective or the egocentric spatial frame of reference through which we encounter the world, is pervasive in phenomenological accounts of perception. I will argue that the zero-point is a complete abstraction that misleads the analysis of perception and action. In contrast, body-schematic processes involved in perception and action are multi-dimensional, complex and complicated by temporal and intermodal factors. I consider several different characterizations of the zero-point: as an objective physiological point, as a geometrical point, or, phenomenologically, as part of one’s experience. I examine evidence from vision studies, and more generally from studies of sensory-motor processes, action, and intersubjective interaction. I reference the work of José Bermúdez in this area and briefly outline an alternative notion that better captures what the zero-point was meant to capture. Bermúdez’s analysis helps us to see that there is no point to the concept of zero-point.