Philosophical Psychology 27 (3):401-424 (2014)
Authors |
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Abstract |
For over a century, the question of the relation of language to thought has been
extensively discussed in the case of color categorization, where two main views prevail.
The relativist view claims that color categories are relative while the universalistic view
argues that color categories are universal. Relativists also argue that color categories are
linguistically determined, and universalists that they are perceptually determined.
Recently, the argument for the perceptual determination of color categorization has been
undermined, and the relativist view has regained some ground. This paper argues that
although the universalistic account of color categorization has been called into question,
this is not enough to establish relativism. Color categories can still be said to be universal
or particular, independent of the accounts of their universality or relativity. Because of its
polarization, the debate has disregarded some issues that are key in our understanding of
color categorization: the question of what a color category is and how to identify it.
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Keywords | Basic color terms theory Categorization Color Sapir-Whorf hypothesis Universalism |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1080/09515089.2012.733815 |
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References found in this work BETA
Universals in Color Naming and Memory.Eleanor R. Heider - 1972 - Journal of Experimental Psychology 93 (1):10.
An Opponent-Process Theory of Color Vision.Leo M. Hurvich & Dorothea Jameson - 1957 - Psychological Review 64 (6, Pt.1):384-404.
Language, Thought, and Color: Whorf Was Half Right.Terry Regier & Paul Kay - 2009 - Trends in Cognitive Sciences 13 (10):439-446.
Color Categories Are Not Universal: Replications and New Evidence From a Stone-Age Culture.Debi Roberson, Ian Davies & Jules Davidoff - 2000 - Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 129 (3):369-398.
Colour: An Exosomatic Organ?B. A. C. Saunders & J. van Brakel - 1997 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 20 (2):212-220.
View all 8 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Misconceptions About Colour Categories.Christoph Witzel - 2019 - Review of Philosophy and Psychology 10 (3):499-540.
Colour Physicalism, Naïve Realism, and the Argument From Structure.Keith Allen - 2015 - Minds and Machines 25 (2):193-212.
Editorial: Sensory Categories.Yasmina Jraissati - 2019 - Review of Philosophy and Psychology 10 (3):419-439.
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