The Perception of Light From a Phenomenological Perspective

This work summarizes research conducted by the author over the years aimed at studying the perception of light in achromatic settings carried out by combining an experimental phenomenological approach with psychophysical methods. Concepts such as “reality” and “illusion” and basic lightness/brightness terminology are briefly analyzed. The perception of light is then treated in three paragraphs, each dedicated to a specific aspect: Luminosity, environmental illumination, and surface illumination (the last largely in relation to lightness perception). For each type of light perception, demos are presented along with a brief discussion of experimental studies conducted by the author and collaborators.