Who was Adelment Ames ?

Question

Somehow he was connected to John Dewey and Education. I know that much.

Answer 1

John Dewy mentions this rather obscure figure in his writings especially in relation to Ames contributions to the place "perception" places in our personal view of things. Alford North Whitehead called him an authenic genius and I tend to agree. Ames was on to something very important way back in the 40s that I wish I had time to elaborate completely on. His interest in art led him to an interest in physiological optics. This led to his series of demonstrations designed to study the nature of perception. In modern psychology it is now considered to be central to understanding how people can view the same events and "see" them differently. It is like each person has his own "prescription lenses" that he/she views the world by. The prescription comes from our own personal experiences, teachings, etc. These are our beliefs and attitudes and they contribute to the many misunderstandings and conflict between individuals and even different cultures. Unfortunely Ames is seldom (if ever) mentioned in the modern research in psychology.