Seeing and Being Seen in the Later Medieval World

Synopsis

The author, Denery, connects medieval scientific theories about optics and visual perception to everyday medieval religious practices. Denery says that understanding how people see and how they make visual mistakes helped shape the interpretation of scripture, the training of preachers, and the practice of confession. The book discusses the problem of appearance versus reality such as mirror reflections or a stick looking bent in water. Also, the two way nature of observation, which was a concern for Dominican novices. They were taught to be conscious of their self-presentation and that vision goes both ways. For example, while they are looking at their audience, the audience is attentively watching them. Other areas of coverage are truth versus appearance in confession, applying known scientific principles to religious teacher's teachings, and discussions about visual mistakes and the limits of human knowledge. The above heavily influenced medieval philosophy.