Coupling Epstein’s and Bozzi’s “Percept-Percept Coupling”

In 1999 William Epstein was invited (by Ugo Savardi) to participate in a conference organized in Padua. The idea was to celebrate the work of Paolo Bozzi (1930 2003) and Epstein was asked to give a presentation on “percept-percept coupling”. This topic was close to Bozzi’s heart as it was related to his work on experimental phenomenology. Epstein had introduced the concept in 1982 in a paper which represented a milestone in the debate on this subject. Together with Sheena Rogers (Epstein & Rogers, 2003), Epstein revised his initial position, and in Padua he pointed out an important aspect (in our opinion) which regrettably remained in the background in the debate which followed. We knew Bozzi well enough to say now that if he were here he would have liked the idea of paying homage in turn to Epstein with a paper on percept-percept coupling. Our aim is to continue their conversation. We will of course rely on their writings and, naturally, our understanding of them.