Gestalts as ecological templates

Visual awareness is commonly considered as due to a complex algorithmic system, implemented by the brain, processing raw optical structure. It may be called ‘inverse optics’, and is an instance of a causal theory of perception. Such concepts are hardly acceptable from a biological perspective. A viable alternative is visual awareness as a user interface. This implies that vision is not ‘veridical’; indeed, interfaces are designed to screen the user from an underlying complexity. They promote biological fitness. Interface objects, like the icons on a computer desktop, are idiosyncratic templates. Gestalts are identified as instances.