人間にとって最も重要な感覚である視覚の発達と、目は視覚能力にどのように係わっているのか。霊長目における色覚の認識の仕組みや、立体の捉えかたなど、人の目の働きについて探ります。また、視覚情報が行動に与える影響や、人の驚くべきパターン認識能力も交え、視覚の原理を解き明かします。
   

• A short account of the eyes and vision, ideal for students of biology and medicine
• Includes an exploration of both human and animal eyes and vision
• Considers both the evolution of vision and the workings of the eye today
• Explains how we can see and understand colour

  
The eye is one of the most remarkable achievements of evolution, and has evolved up to 40 times in different parts of the animal kingdom. In humans, vision is the most important sense, and much of the brain is given over to the processing of visual information. 
  
In this Very Short Introduction, Michael Land describes the evolution of vision and the variety of eyes found in both humans and animals. He explores the evolution of colour vision in primates and the workings of the human eye, to consider how that contributes to our visual ability. He explains how we see in three dimensions and the basic principles of visual perception, including our impressive capacity for pattern recognition and the ability of vision to guide action.