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Colors as Properties of the Special Sciences

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Abstract

We examine the pros and cons of color realism, exposing some desiderata on a theory of color: the theory should render colors as scientifically legitimate and correctly individuated, and it should explain how we have veridical color experiences. We then show that these desiderata can by met by treating colors as properties of the special sciences. According to our view, some of the major disputes in the literature about color – anti-realism versus dispositionalism versus reductionism – are not well-founded at this stage of scientific inquiry. Our account of color is designed to be of use in the sciences and as such is driven largely by considerations of what the various sciences need in order to proceed appropriately. We argue that a scientific theory of colors need not regard colors as anything more than high-level statistical constructs built out of correlations between color experiences and other phenomena.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Logic and Philosophy, University of California, Irvine, USA

    Kent Johnson

  2. Department of Philosophy, California State University, Long Beach, USA

    Wayne Wright

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  1. Kent Johnson
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  2. Wayne Wright
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Correspondence to Wayne Wright.

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Manuscript submitted 13 February 2005

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Johnson, K., Wright, W. Colors as Properties of the Special Sciences. Erkenntnis 64, 139–168 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-005-4310-8

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