Philosophy Wire: Making the blind see… But what?

Scientists are investigating new ways to provide visual signals to the blind by directly stimulating the optic nerve. Their preliminary study uses a new type of neural electrode and provides distinct signals. [1] An interesting idea which poses another interesting question: with what should we stimulate the optic nerve to make someone see? What are the optical triggers that should (should?) be there in order to experience the cosmos properly? (Properly?) How should we know them? How could we know them? Could it be that the blind sense the cosmos better than us? And even if that were so, would we ever be willing to accept it? It is scary, but in the same way we cannot convince the blind for what we do see, they cannot convince us for what they cannot… Do you see? There is nothing you cannot…

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