What, if anything, are colours relative to?

Colours have been described as relative to observers, relative to the circumstances in which they are observed, relative to languages and even as relative to ‘the human perceptual standpoint’ or, less chauvinistically, ‘the perceptual point of view’. As this variety of relativisms suggests, the blan...

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Dades bibliogràfiques
Autor principal: Hyman, J
Altres autors: The Royal Institute of Philosophy
Format: Journal article
Idioma:English
Publicat: Cambridge University Press 2005
Matèries:
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Sumari:Colours have been described as relative to observers, relative to the circumstances in which they are observed, relative to languages and even as relative to ‘the human perceptual standpoint’ or, less chauvinistically, ‘the perceptual point of view’. As this variety of relativisms suggests, the blanket claim that colours are relative and the blanket denial of this claim are equally unhelpful. We need to ask what, if anything, are colours relative to. This is the first question I shall address. The second is whether the relativity of colours, such as it is, implies that they are less real than shapes or intervals in time.