It is argued that models of sensory deprivation often depend on a nativist versus
empiricist dichotomy which has little basis in empirical fact. Fallacies about the
nature of abilities and learning and about the interaction between sense modalities
which follow from the dichotomy are examined in relation to explanations of spatial
development in the blind. It is suggested that interactions between cognitive and
perceptual factors need to be taken into account in order to explain the effects of
sensory deprivation more adequately.
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