The term ‘perceptual presence’ (and related terms such as ‘phenomenal presence’ and ‘presentational phenomenology’) was rarely used until the last couple of decades. Recent years have seen an increase in its popularity, with a number of articles and books which use this term or explore the issues around it. In this paper I shall explore three sets of issues concerning perceptual presence. The first set of issues involves clarifying what perceptual presence is; the second involves indicating possible ways in which it might be explained; the third involves considering some of the work to which this notion might be put. Read more…
