PageBreakiiTitlepage
Pageii
LudwigWittgenstein:
REMARKSONCOLOUR
Editedby
G.E.M.ANSCOMBE
Translatedby
LindaL.McAlisterand
MargareteSchttle
BASILBLACKWELL
PageBreak1
EDITOR'SPREFACE
Page1
PartIIIofthisvolumereproducesmostofaMSbookwritteninoxfordintheSpringof1950.Ihaveleftoutmaterialon"inner-outer",remarksaboutShakespeareandsomegeneralobservationsaboutlife;allthisbothwasmarkedasdiscontinuouswiththetextandalsowillappearelsewhere.PartIwaswritteninCambridgeinMarch1951:itisaselectionandrevisionoftheearliermaterial,withfewadditions.ItisnotclearwhetherPartIIante-orpost-datesPartIII.Itwaspartofwhatwaswrittenonundatedloosesheetsoffoolscap,therestbeingdevotedto
certainty.
WittgensteinlefttheseinhisroominmyhouseinOxfordwhenhewenttoDr.Bevan'shouseinCambridgeinFebruary1951,intheexpectationofdyingthere.Hisliteraryexecutorsdecidedthatthewholeofthismaterialmightwellbepublished,asitgivesaclearsampleoffirst-draftwritingandsubsequentselection.Muchofwhatwasnotselectedisofgreatinterest,andthismethodofpublicationinvolvestheleastpossibleeditorialintervention.
Page1
IntheworkofdeterminingthetextIwasmuchhelpedbyG.H.vonWright'scarefultypescriptofit,andalsobyanindependenttypescriptmadebyLindaMcAlisterandMargareteSchttleWehavetothankthemalsofortheirtranslation.This,withagreedrevisionsbytheeditor,ispublishedhere.
Page1
IshouldalsoliketothankDr.L.LabowskyforreadingthroughtheGermantext.
G.E.M.Anscombe
PageBreak2
I
Page2
1.Alanguage-game:Reportwhetheracertainbodyislighterordarkerthananother.--Butnowthere'sarelatedone:Statetherelationshipbetweenthelightnessofcertainshadesofcolour.(Comparewiththis:Determiningtherelationshipbetweenthelengthsoftwosticks--andthe
relationshipbetweentwonumbers.)--Theformofthepropositionsinbothlanguage-gamesisthesame:"XislighterthanY".Butinthefirstitisanexternalrelationandthepropositionistemporal,intheseconditisaninternalrelationandthepropositionistimeless.
Page2
2.Inapictureinwhichapieceofwhitepapergetsitslightnessfromthebluesky,theskyislighterthanthewhitepaper.Andyetinanothersenseblueisthedarkerandwhitethelightercolour.(Goethe).Onthepalettewhiteisthelightestcolour.
Page2
3.Lichtenbergsaysthatveryfewpeoplehaveeverseenpurewhite.Sodomostpeopleusethewordwrong,then?
Andhowdidhelearnthecorrectuse?--Heconstructedanidealusefromtheordinaryone.Andthatisnottosayabetterone,butonethathasbeenrefinedalongcertainlinesandintheprocesssomethinghasbeencarriedtoextremes.
Page2
4.Andofcoursesuchaconstructmayinturnteachussomethingaboutthewayweinfactusetheword.
Page2
5.IfIsayapieceofpaperispurewhite,andifsnowwereplacednexttoitanditthenappearedgrey,initsnormalsurroundingsIwouldstillberightincallingitwhiteandnotlightgrey.ItcouldbethatIuseamorerefinedconceptofwhitein,say,alaboratory(where,forexample,Ialsouseamorerefinedconceptofprecisedeterminationoftime).
Page2
6.Whatisthereinfavorofsayingthatgreenisaprimarycolour,notablendofblueandyellow?Woulditberighttosay:"Youcanonlyknowitdirectlybylookingatthecolours"?ButhowdoIknowthatImeanthesamebythewords"primarycolours"assomeother
PageBreak3
personwhoisalsoinclinedtocallgreenaprimarycolour?No,--herelanguage-gamesdecide.
Page3
7.Someoneisgivenacertainyellow-green(orblue-green)andtoldtomixalessyellowish(orbluish)one--ortopickitoutfromanumberofcoloursamples.Alessyellowishgreen,however,isnotabluishone(andviceversa),andthereisalsosuchataskaschoosing,ormixingagreenthatisneitheryellowishnorbluish.Isay"ormixing"
becauseagreendoesnotbecomebothbluish"andyellowishbecauseitisproducedbyakindofmixtureofyellowandblue.
Page3
8.Peoplemighthavetheconceptofintermediarycoloursormixedcolourseveniftheyneverproducedcoloursbymixing(inwhateversense).Theirlanguage-gamesmightonlyhavetodowithlookingfororselectingalreadyexistingintermediaryorblendedcolours.
Page3
9.Evenifgreenisnotanintermediarycolourbetweenyellowandblue,couldn'ttherebepeopleforwhomthereisbluish-yellow,reddish-green?I.e.peoplewhosecolourconceptsdeviatefromours--because,afterall;
thecolourconceptsofcolour-blindpeopletoodeviatefromthoseofnormalpeople,andnoteverydeviationfromthenormmustbeablindness,adefect.
Page3
10.Someonewhohaslearnttofindortomixashadeofcolourthatismoreyellowish,morewhitishormorereddish,etc.,thanagivenshadeofcolour,i.e.whoknowstheconceptofintermediarycolours,is(now)askedtoshowusareddish-green.Hemaysimplynotunderstandthisorderandperhapsreactasthoughhehadfirstbeenaskedtopointoutregularfour-,five-,andsix-angledplanefigures,andthenwereaskedtopointoutaregularone-angledplanefigure.Butwhatifheunhesitatinglypointedtoacoloursample(say,toonethatwewouldcallablackishbrown)?
Page3
11.Someonewhoisfamiliarwithreddish-greenshouldbeinapositiontoproduceacolourserieswhichstartswithredandendswithgreenandwhichperhapsevenforusconstitutesacontinuousPageBreak4
transitionbetweenthetwo.Wewouldthendiscoverthatatthepointwherewealwaysseethesameshade,e.g.ofbrown,thispersonsometimesseesbrownandsometimesreddish-green.Itmaybe,forexample,thathecandifferentiatebetweenthecoloursoftwochemicalcompoundsthatseemtoustobethesamecolourandhecallsonebrownandtheotherreddish-green.
Page4
12.Imaginethatallmankind,withrareexceptions,werered-greencolour-blind.Oranothercase:everyonewaseitherred-greenorblue-yellowcolour-blind.
Page4
13.Imagineatribeofcolour-blindpeople,andtherecouldeasilybeone.Theywouldnothavethesamecolourconceptsaswedo.Forevenassumingtheyspeak,e.g.English,andthushavealltheEnglishcolourwords,theywouldstillusethemdifferentlythanwedoandwouldlearntheirusedifferently.
Oriftheyhaveaforeignlanguage,itwouldbedifficultforustotranslatetheircolourwordsintoours.
Page4
14.Buteveniftherewerealsopeopleforwhomitwasnaturaltousetheexpressions"reddish-green"or
"yellowish-blue"inaconsistentmannerandwhoperhapsalsoexhibitabilitieswhichwelack,wewouldstillnotbeforcedtorecognizethattheyseecolourswhichwedonotsee.Thereis,afterall,nocommonlyacceptedcriterionforwhatisacolour,unlessitisoneofourcolours.
Page4
15.Ineveryseriousphilosophicalquestionuncertaintyextendstotheveryrootsoftheproblem.
Wemustalwaysbepreparedtolearnsomethingtotallynew.
Page4
16.Thedescriptionofthephenomenaofcolour-blindnessispartofpsychology:andthereforethedescriptionofthephenomenaofnormalvision,too?Psychologyonlydescribesthedeviationsofcolour-blindnessfromnormalvision.
Page4
17.Rungesays(intheletterthatGoethereproducedinhisTheoryofColours),therearetransparentandopaquecolours.Whiteisanopaquecolour.
Thisshowstheindeterminatenessintheconceptofcolouroragaininthatofsamenessofcolour.
PageBreak5
Page5
18.Canatransparentgreenglasshavethesamecolourasapieceofopaquepaperornot?Ifsuchaglassweredepictedinapainting,thecolourswouldnotbetransparentonthepalette.Ifwewantedtosaythecolouroftheglasswasalsotransparentinthepainting,wewouldhavetocallthecomplexofcolourpatcheswhichdepicttheglassitscolour.
Page5
19.Whyisitthatsomethingcanbetransparentgreenbutnottransparentwhite?
Transparencyandreflectionsexistonlyinthedimensionofdepthofavisualimage.
Theimpressionthatthetransparentmediummakesisthatsomethingliesbehindthemedium.Ifthevisualimageisthoroughlymonochromaticitcannotbetransparent.
Page5
20.Somethingwhitebehindacolouredtransparentmediumappearsinthecolourofthemedium,somethingblackappearsblack.Accordingto
thisrule,blackonawhitebackgroundwouldhavetobeseenthrougha'white,transparent'mediumasthroughacolourlessone.
Page5
21.Runge:"Ifweweretothinkofabluish-orange,areddish-green,orayellowish-violet,wewouldhavethesamefeelingasinthecaseofasouthwesterlynorthwind....BothwhiteandBlackareopaqueorsolid....Whitewaterwhichispureisasinconceivableasclearmilk."
Page5
22.Wedonotwanttoestablishatheoryofcolour(neitheraphysiologicalonenorapsychologicalone),butratherthelogicofcolourconcepts.Andthisaccomplisheswhatpeoplehaveoftenunjustlyexpectedofatheory.
Page5
23."Whitewaterisinconceivable,etc."Thatmeanswecannotdescribe(e.g.paint),howsomethingwhiteandclearwouldlook,andthatmeans:wedon'tknowwhatdescription,portrayal,thesewordsdemandofus.
Page5
24.Itisnotimmediatelyclearwhattransparentglassweshouldsayhasthesamecolourasanopaquecoloursample.IfIsay,"Iamlookingforglassofthiscolour"(pointingtoapieceofcolouredPageBreak6
paper),thatwouldmeanroughlythatsomethingwhiteseenthroughtheglassshouldlooklikemysample.
Ifthesampleispink,sky-blueorlilac,wewillimaginetheglasscloudy,butperhapstooasclearandonlyslightlyreddish,bluishorviolet.
Page6
25.Inthecinemawecansometimesseetheeventsinthefilmasiftheylaybehindthescreenanditweretransparent,ratherlikeapaneofglass.Theglasswouldbetakingthecolourawayfromthingsandallowingonlywhite,greyandblacktocomethrough.(Herewearenotdoingphysics,weareregardingwhiteandblackascoloursjustlikegreenandred).--Wemightthusthinkthatwearehereimaginingapaneofglassthatcouldbecalledwhiteandtransparent.Andyetwearenottemptedtocallitthat:sodoestheanalogywith,e.g.atransparentgreenpanebreakdownsomewhere?
Page6
26.Wewouldsay,perhaps,ofagreenpane:itcoloursthethingsbehinditgreen,aboveallthewhitebehindit.
Page6
27.Whendealingwithlogic,"Onecannotimaginethat"means:onedoesn'tknowwhatoneshouldimaginehere.
Page6
28.Wouldwesaythatmyfictitiousglasspaneinthecinemagavethethingsbehinditawhitecolouring?
Page6
29.Fromtherulefortheappearanceoftransparentcolouredthingsthatyouhaveextractedfromtransparentgreen,red,etc.,ascertaintheappearanceoftransparentwhite!Whydoesn'tthiswork?
Page6
30.Everycolouredmediumdarkensthatwhichisseenthroughit,itswallowslight:nowismywhiteglassalsosupposedtodarken?Andthemoresothethickeritis?Soitwouldreallybeadarkglass!
Page6
31.Whycan'tweimaginetransparent-whiteglass,--evenifthereisn'tanyinactuality?Wheredoestheanalogywithtransparentcolouredglassgowrong?
Page6
32.Sentencesareoftenusedontheborderlinebetweenlogicandtheempirical,sothattheirmeaningchangesbackandforthand
PageBreak7
theycountnowasexpressionsofnorms,nowasexpressionsofexperience.
(Foritiscertainlynotanaccompanyingmentalphenomenon--thisishowweimagine'thoughts'--buttheuse,whichdistinguishesthelogicalpropositionfromtheempiricalone.)Page7
33.Wespeakofthe'colourofgold'anddonotmeanyellow."Gold-coloured"isthepropertyofasurfacethatshinesorglitters.
Page7
34.Thereistheglowofred-hotandofwhite-hot:butwhatwouldbrown-hotandgrey-hotlooklike?Whycan'tweconceiveoftheseasalowerdegreeofwhite-hot?
Page7
35."Lightiscolourless".Ifso,theninthesenseinwhichnumbersarecolourless.
Page7
36.Whateverlooksluminousdoesnotlookgrey.Everythinggreylooksasthoughitisbeingilluminated.
Page7
37.Whatweseeasluminouswedonotseeasgrey.Butwecancertainlyseeitaswhite.
Page7
38.Icould,then,seesomethingnowasweaklyluminous,nowasgrey.
Page7
39.Iamnotsayinghere(astheGestaltpsychologistsdo),thattheimpressionofwhitecomesaboutinsuch-and-suchaway.Ratherthequestionisprecisely:whatisthemeaningofthisexpression,whatisthelogicofthisconcept?
Page7
40.Forthefactthatwecannotconceiveofsomething'glowinggrey'belongsneithertothephysicsnortothepsychologyofcolour.
Page7
41.Iamtoldthatasubstanceburnswithagreyflame.Idon'tknowthecoloursoftheflamesofallsubstances;sowhyshouldn'tthatbepossible?
Page7
42.Wespeakofa'darkredlight'butnotofa'black-redlight'.
PageBreak8
Page8
43.Asmoothwhitesurfacecanreflectthings:Butwhat,then,ifwemadeamistakeandthatwhichappearedtobereflectedinsuchasurfacewerereallybehinditandseenthroughit?Wouldthesurfacethenbewhiteandtransparent?
Page8
44.Wespeakofa'black'mirror.Butwhereitmirrors,itdarkens,ofcourse,butitdoesn'tlookblack,andthatwhichisseeninitdoesnotappear'dirty'but'deep'.
Page8
45.Opaquenessisnotapropertyofthewhitecolour.Anymorethantransparencyisapropertyofthegreen.
Page8
46.Anditdoesnotsufficetosay,theword"white"isusedonlyfortheappearanceofsurfaces.Itcouldbethatwehadtwowordsfor"green":oneforgreensurfaces,theotherforgreentransparentobjects.Thequestionwouldremainwhythereexistednocolourwordcorrespondingtotheword"white"forsomethingtransparent.
Page8
47.Wewouldn'twanttocallamediumwhiteifablackandwhitepattern(chessboard)appearedunchangedwhenseenthroughit,evenifthismediumreducedtheintensityoftheothercolours.
Page8
48.Wemightwantnottocallawhitehigh-light"white",andthususethatwordonlyforthatwhichweseeasthecolourofasurface.
Page8
49.OftwoplacesinmysurroundingswhichIseeinonesenseasbeingthesamecolour,inanothersense,theonecanseemtomewhiteandtheothergrey.
Tomeinonecontextthiscolouriswhiteinapoorlight,inanotheritisgreyingoodlight.
Thesearepropositionsabouttheconcepts'white'and'grey'.
Page8
50.ThebucketwhichIseeinfrontofmeisglazedshiningwhite;itwouldbeabsurdtocallit"grey"ortosay"Ireallyseealightgrey".Butithasashinyhighlightthatisfarlighterthantherestofitssurfacepartofwhichisturnedtowardthelightandpartawayfromit,withoutappearingtobedifferentlycoloured.(Appearing,notjustbeing:)PageBreak9
Page9
51.Itisnotthesamethingtosay:theimpressionofwhiteorgreycomesaboutundersuch-and-suchconditions(causal),and:itisanimpressioninacertaincontextofcoloursandforms.
Page9
52.Whiteasacolourofsubstances(inthesenseinwhichwesaysnowiswhite)islighterthananyothersubstance-colour;blackdarker.Here
colourisadarkening,andifallsuchisremovedfromthesubstance,whiteremains,andforthisreasonwecancallit"colourless".
Page9
53.Theisnosuchthingasphenomenology,butthereareindeedphenomenologicalproblems.
Page9
54.Itiseasytoseethatnotallcolourconceptsarelogicallyofthesamesort,e.g.thedifferencebetweentheconcepts'colourofgold'or'colourofsilver'and'yellow'or'grey'.
Page9
55.Acolour'shines'initssurroundings.(Justaseyesonlysmileinaface.)A'blackish'colour--e.g.grey--doesn't
'shine'.
Page9
56.Thedifficultiesweencounterwhenwereflectaboutthenatureofcolours(thosewhichGoethewantedtogetsortedoutinhisTheoryofColours)areembeddedintheindeterminatenessofourconceptofsamenessofcolour.
Page9
57.
["IfeelX"
"IobserveX"
Xdoesnotstandforthesameconceptinthefirstandthesecondsentences,evenifitmaystandforthesameverbalexpression,e.g.for"apain".Forifweask"whatkindofapain?"inthefirstcaseIcouldanswer"Thiskind"and,forexample,stickthequestionerwithaneedle.InthesecondcaseImustanswerthesamequestiondifferently;e.g."thepaininmyfoot".
InthesecondsentenceXcouldalsostandfor"mypain",butnotinthefirst.]
Page9
58.ImaginesomeonepointingtoaplaceintheirisofaRembrandteyeandsaying:"Thewallsinmyroomshouldbepaintedthiscolour".
PageBreak10
Page10
59.Ipainttheviewfrommywindow;oneparticularspot,determinedbyitspositioninthearchitectureofahouse,Ipaintochre.IsaythisisthecolourIseethisspot.ThatdoesnotmeanthatIseethecolourofochrehere,forinthesesurroundingsthispigmentmaylooklighter,darker,morereddish,(etc.)."IseethisspotthewayIhavepainteditherewithochre,namelyasastronglyreddish-yellow".
ButwhatifsomeoneaskedmetogivetheexactshadeofcolourthatIseethere?--Howshoulditbedescribedandhowdetermined?Someonecouldaskmetoproduceacoloursample(arectangularpieceofpaperofthiscolour).Idon'tsaythatsuchacomparisonwouldbeutterlyuninteresting,butitshowsusthatitisn'tfromtheoutsetclearhowshadesofcolouraretobecomparedandwhat"samenessofcolour"means.
Page10
60.Imagineapaintingcutupintosmall,almostmonochromaticbitswhicharethenusedaspiecesinajig-sawpuzzle.Evenwhensuchapieceisnotmonochromaticitshouldnotindicateanythree-dimensionalshape,butshouldappearasaflatcolour-patch.Onlytogetherwiththeotherpiecesdoesitbecomeabitofbluesky,ashadow,ahighlight,transparentoropaque,etc.Dotheindividualpiecesshowustherealcoloursofthepartsofthepicture?
Page10
61.Weareinclinedtobelievetheanalysisofourcolourconceptswouldleadultimatelytothecoloursofplacesinourvisualfield,whichareindependentofanyspatialorphysicalinterpretation;forherethereisneitherlightnorshadow,norhigh-light,etc.,etc..
Page10
62.ThefactthatIcansaythisplaceinmyvisualfieldisgrey-greendoesnotmeanthatIknowwhatshouldbecalledanexactreproductionofthisshadeofcolour.
Page10
63.Iseeinaphotograph(notacolourphotograph)amanwithdarkhairandaboywithslicked-backblondhairstandinginfrontofakindoflathe,whichismadeinpartofcastingspaintedblack,andinpartofsmoothaxles,gears,etc.,andnexttoitagratingmadeoflightgalvanizedwire.Iseethefinishedironsurfacesasiron-coloured,theboy'shairasblond,thegratingaszinc-coloured,despitethefactthateverythingisdepictedinlighteranddarkertonesofthephotographicpaper.
PageBreak11
Page11
64.ButdoIreallyseethehairblondinthephotograph?Andwhatcanbesaidinfavorofthis?Whatreactionoftheviewerissupposedtoshowthatheseesthehairblond,anddoesn'tjustconcludefromtheshadesofthephotographthatitisblond?--IfIwereaskedtodescribethephotographIwoulddosointhemostdirectmannerwiththesewords.Ifthiswayofdescribingitwon'tdo,thenIwouldhavetostartlookingforanother.
Page11
65.Iftheword"blond"itselfcansoundblond,thenit'seveneasierforphotographedhairtolookblond!
Page11
66."Can'tweimaginecertainpeoplehavingadifferentgeometryofcolourthanwedo?"That,ofcourse,means:Can'tweimaginepeoplehavingcolourconceptsotherthanours?Andthatinturnmeans:Can'tweimaginepeoplewhodonothaveourcolourconceptsbutwhohaveconceptswhicharerelatedtooursinsuchawaythatwewouldalsocallthem"colourconcepts"?
Page11
67.Lookatyourroomlateintheeveningwhenyoucanhardlydistinguishbetweencoloursanylonger--andnowturnonthelightandpaintwhatyousawearlierinthesemi-darkness.--Howdoyoucomparethecoloursinsuchapicturewiththoseofthesemi-darkroom?
Page11
68.Whenwe'reasked"Whatdothewords'red','blue','black','white'mean?"wecan,ofcourse,immediatelypointtothingswhichhavethesecolours,--butourabilitytoexplainthemeaningsofthesewordsgoesnofurther!Fortherest,wehaveeithernoideaatalloftheiruse,oravery
roughandtosomeextentfalseone.
Page11
69.Icanimaginealogicianwhotellsusthathehasnowsucceededinreallybeingabletothink22=4.
Page11
70.Goethe'stheoryoftheconstitutionofthecoloursofthespectrumhasnotprovedtobeanunsatisfactorytheory,ratheritreallyisn'tatheoryatall.Nothingcanbepredictedwithit.Itis,rather,avagueschematicoutlineofthesortwefindinJames'spsychology.Noristhereanyexperimentumcruciswhichcoulddecidefororagainstthetheory.
PageBreak12
Page12
71.SomeonewhoagreeswithGoethebelievesthatGoethecorrectlyrecognizedthenatureofcolour.Andnaturehereisnotwhatresultsfromexperiments,butitliesintheconceptofcolour.
Page12
72.OnethingwasirrefutablycleartoGoethe:nolightnesscancomeoutofdarkness--justasmoreandmoreshadowsdonotproducelight.--Thiscouldbeexpressedasfollows:wemaycalllilacareddish-whitish-blueorbrownablackish-reddish-yellow--butwecannotcallawhiteayellowish-reddish-greenish-blue,orthelike.Andthatissomethingthatexperimentswiththespectrumneitherconfirmnorrefute.Itwould,however,alsobewrongtosay,"Justlookatthecoloursinnatureandyouwillseethatitisso".Forlookingdoesnotteachusanythingabouttheconceptsofcolours.
Page12
73.IcannotimaginethatGoethe'sremarksaboutthecharactersofthecoloursandcolourcombinationscouldbeofanyusetoapainter;theycouldbeofhardlyanytoadecorator.Thecolourofablood-shoteyemighthaveasplendideffectasthecolourofawall-hanging.Someonewhospeaksofthecharacterofacolourisalwaysthinkingofjustoneparticularwayitisused.
Page12
74.Iftherewereatheoryofcolourharmony,perhapsitwouldbeginbydividingthecoloursintogroupsandforbiddingcertainmixturesorcombinationsandallowingothers.And,asinharmony,itsruleswouldbegivennojustification.
Page12
75.Theremaybementaldefectiveswhocannotbetaughttheconcept'tomorrow',ortheconcept'I',nortotelltime.
Suchpeoplewouldnotlearntheuseoftheword'tomorrow'etc..
NowtowhomcanIdescribewhatthesepeoplecannotlearn?Justtoonewhohaslearntit?Can'tItellAthatBcannotlearnhighermathematics,eventhoughAhasn'tmasteredit?Doesn'tthepersonwhohaslearnedthegameunderstandtheword"chess"differentlyfromsomeonewhohasn'tlearntit?Therearedifferencesbetweentheuseofthewordwhichtheformercanmake,andtheusewhichthelatterhaslearnt.
Page12
76.Doesdescribingagamealwaysmean:givingadescriptionthroughwhichsomeonecanlearnit?
PageBreak13
Page13
77.Dothenormallysightedandthecolour-blindhavethesameconceptofcolour-blindness?Thecolour-blindnotmerelycannotlearntouseourcolourwords,theycan'tlearntousetheword"colour-blind"asanormalpersondoes.Theycannot,forexample,establishcolour-blindnessinthesamewayasthenormaldo.
Page13
78.Therecouldbepeoplewhodidn'tunderstandourwayofsayingthatorangeisaratherreddish-yellow,andwhowouldonlybeinclinedtosaysomethinglikethatincaseswhereatransitionfromyellowthroughorangetoredtookplacebeforetheireyes.Andforsuchpeopletheexpression"reddish-green"needpresentnodifficulties.
Page13
79.Psychologydescribesthephenomenaofseeing.--Forwhomdoesitdescribethem?Whatignorancecanthisdescriptioneliminate?
Page13
80.Psychologydescribeswhatwasobserved.
Page13
81.Canonedescribetoablindpersonwhatit'slikeforsomeonetosee?--Certainly.Theblindlearnagreatdealaboutthedifferencebetweentheblindandthesighted.Butthequestionwasbadlyput;asthoughseeingwereanactivityandtherewereadescriptionofit.
Page13
82.Ican,ofcourse,observecolour-blindness;thenwhynotseeing?--I
canobservewhatcolourjudgementsacolour-blindperson--oranormallysightedperson,too--makesundercertaincircumstances.
Page13
83.Peoplesometimessay(thoughmistakenly),"OnlyIcanknowwhatIsee".Butnot:"OnlyIcanknowwhetherIamcolour-blind".(Noragain:"OnlyIcanknowwhetherIseeoramblind".)Page13
84.Thestatement,"Iseearedcircle"andthestatement"Isee(amnotblind)"arenotlogicallyofthesamesort.Howdowetestthetruthoftheformer,andhowthatofthelatter?
Page13
85.ButcanIbelievethatIseeandbeblind,orbelievethatI'mblindandsee?
Page13
86.Couldapsychologytextbookcontainthesentence,"Therearepeoplewhosee"?Wouldthisbewrong?Buttowhomwillitcommunicateanything?
PageBreak14
Page14
87.Howcanitbenonsensetosay,"Therearepeoplewhosee",ifitisnotnonsensetosay"Therearepeoplewhoareblind"?
ButsupposeIhadneverheardoftheexistenceofblindpeopleandonedaysomeonetoldme,"Therearepeoplewhodonotsee",wouldIhavetounderstandthissentenceimmediately?IfIamnotblindmyselfmustIbeconsciousthatIhavetheabilitytosee,andthat,therefore,theremaybe
peoplewhodonothavethisability?
Page14
88.Ifthepsychologistteachesus,"Therearepeoplewhosee",wecanthenaskhim:"Andwhatdoyoucall'peoplewhosee'?"Theanswertothatwouldhavetobe:Peoplewhobehaveso-and-soundersuch-and-suchcircumstances.
PageBreak15
II
Page15
1.Wemightspeakofthecolour-impressionofasurface,bywhichwewouldn'tmeanthecolour,butratherthecompositeoftheshadesofcolour,whichproducestheimpression(e.g.)ofabrownsurface.
Page15
2.Blendinginwhiteremovesthecolourednessfromthecolour;butblendinginyellowdoesnot.--Isthatthebasisofthepropositionthattherecanbenocleartransparentwhite?
Page15
3.Butwhatkindofapropositionisthat,thatblendinginwhiteremovesthecolourednessfromthecolour?
AsImeanit,itcan'tbeapropositionofphysics.
Herethetemptationtobelieveinaphenomenology,somethingmidwaybetweenscienceandlogic,isverygreat.
Page15
4.Whatthenistheessentialnatureofcloudiness?Forredoryellowtransparentthingsarenotcloudy;whiteiscloudy.
Page15
5.Iscloudythatwhichconcealsforms,andconcealsformsbecauseitobliterateslightandshadow?
Page15
6.Isn'twhitethatwhichdoesawaywithdarkness?
Page15
7.Wespeak,ofcourse,of'blackglass',yetyouseeawhitesurfaceasredthroughredglassbutnotasblackthrough
'black'glass.
Page15
8.Peopleoftenusetintedlensesintheireye-glassesinordertoseeclearly,butnevercloudylenses.
Page15
9."Theblendinginofwhiteobliteratesthedifferencebetweenlightanddark,lightandshadow";doesthatdefinetheconceptsmoreclosely?Yes,Ibelieveitdoes.
Page15
10.Ifsomeonedidn'tfindittobethisway,itwouldn'tbethathehad
experiencedthecontrary,butratherthatwewouldn'tunderstandhim.
Page15
11.Inphilosophywemustalwaysask:"Howmustwelookatthisprobleminorderforittobecomesolvable?"
PageBreak16
Page16
12.Forhere(whenIconsidercolours,forexample)thereismerelyaninabilitytobringtheconceptsintosomekindoforder.
Westandthereliketheoxinfrontofthenewly-paintedstalldoor.
Page16
13.Thinkabouthowapainterwoulddepicttheviewthroughared-tintedglass.Whatresultsisacomplicatedsurfacepicture.I.e.thepicturewillcontainagreatmanygradationsofredandofothercoloursadjacenttooneanother.Andanalogouslyifyoulookedthroughablueglass.
Buthowaboutifyoupaintedapicturesuchthattheplacesbecomewhitishwhere,before,somethingwasmadebluishorreddish?
Page16
14.Istheonlydifferenceherethatthecoloursremainassaturatedasbeforewhenareddishlightiscastonthem,whiletheydon'twiththewhitishlight?Butwedon'tspeakofa'whitishlightcastonthings'atall!
Page16
15.Ifeverythinglookedwhitishinaparticularlight,wewouldn'tthen
concludethatthelightsourcemustlookwhite.
Page16
16.Phenomenologicalanalysis(ase.g.Goethewouldhaveit)isanalysisofconceptsandcanneitheragreewithnorcontradictphysics.
Page16
17.Butwhatifsomewherethefollowingsituationprevailed:thelightofawhite-hotbodymakesthingsappearlightbutwhitish,andsoweakly-coloured;thelightofared-hotbodymakesthingsappearreddish,etc.(Onlyaninvisiblelightsource,notperceptibletotheeye,makesthemradiateincolours.)Page16
18.Yes,supposeeventhatthingsonlyradiatedtheircolourswhen,inoursense,nolightfellonthem--when,forexample,theskywereblack?Couldn'twethensay:onlyinblacklightdothefullcoloursappear(tous)?
Page16
19.Butwouldn'ttherebeacontradictionhere?
Page16
20.Idon'tseethatthecoloursofbodiesreflectlightintomyeye.
PageBreak17
III
24.3.50
Page17
1.?Whitemustbethelightestcolourinapicture.
Page17
2.IntheTricolour,forexample,thewhitecannotbedarkerthantheblueandred.
Page17
3.Herewehaveasortofmathematicsofcolour.
26.3
Page17
4.Butpureyellowtooislighterthanpure,saturatedred,orblue.Andisthispropositionamatterofexperience?--Idon'tknow,forexample,whetherred(i.e.purered)islighterordarkerthanblue;tobeabletosay,Iwouldhavetoseethem.Andyet,ifIhadseenthem,Iwouldknowtheansweronceandforall,liketheresultofanarithmeticalcalculation.
Wheredowedrawthelineherebetweenlogicandexperience?
Page17
5.Thewordwhosemeaningisnotclearis"pure"or"saturated".Howdowelearnitsmeaning?Howcanwetellifpeoplemeanthesamethingbyit?Icallacolour(e.g.red)"saturated"ifitcontainsneitherblacknorwhite,ifitisneitherblackishnorwhitish.
Butthisexplanationonlyleadstoaprovisionalunderstanding.
Page17
6.Whatistheimportanceoftheconceptofsaturatedcolour?
Page17
7.Onefactisobviouslyimportanthere:namelythatpeoplereserveaspecialplaceforagivenpointonthecolourwheel,andthattheydon'thavetogotoalotoftroubletorememberwherethepointis,butalwaysfinditeasily.
Page17
8.Istheresuchathingasa'naturalhistoryofcolours'andtowhatextentisitanalogoustoanaturalhistoryofplants?Isn'tthelattertemporal,theformernontemporal
Page17
9.Ifwesaythattheproposition"saturatedyellowislighterthansaturatedblue"doesn'tbelongtotherealmofpsychology(foronly
PageBreak18
socoulditbenaturalhistory)--thismeansthatwearenotusingitasapropositionofnaturalhistory.Andthequestionthenis:whatistheother,nontemporaluselike?
Page18
10.Forthisistheonlywaywecandistinguishpropositionsof'themathematicsofcolour'fromthoseofnaturalhistory.
Page18
11.Oragain,thequestionisthis:canwe(clearly)distinguishtwouseshere?
Page18
12.Ifyouimpresstwoshadesofcolouronyourmemory,andAislighterthanB,andthenlateryoucalloneshade
"A"andanother"B"buttheoneyoucalled"B"islighterthan"A",youhavecalledtheseshadesbythewrongnames.(Thisislogic).
Page18
13.Lettheconceptofa'saturated'colourbesuchthatsaturatedXcannotbelighterthansaturatedYatonetimeanddarkeratanother;i.e.itmakesnosensetosayitislighteratonetimeanddarkeratanother.Thisdeterminestheconceptandisagainamatteroflogic.
Theusefulnessofaconceptdeterminedinthiswayisnotdecidedhere.
Page18
14.Thisconceptmightonlyhaveaverylimiteduse.AndthissimplybecausewhatweusuallycallasaturatedXisanimpressionofcolourinaparticularsurrounding.Itiscomparableto'transparent'X.
Page18
15.Giveexamplesofsimplelanguage-gameswiththeconceptof'saturatedcolours'.
Page18
16.Iassumethatcertainchemicalcompounds,e.g.thesaltsofagivenacid,havesaturatedcoloursandcouldberecognizedbythem.
Page18
17.Oryoucouldtellwherecertainflowerscomefrombytheirsaturatedcolours,e.g.youcouldsay,"Thatmustbeanalpineflowerbecauseitscolourissointense".
Page18
18.Butinsuchacasetherecouldbelighteranddarkersaturatedred,etc.
Page18
19.Anddon'tIhavetoadmitthatsentencesareoftenusedontheborderlinebetweenlogicandtheempirical,sothattheirmeaning
PageBreak19
shiftsbackandforthandtheyarenowexpressionsofnorms,nowtreatedasexpressionsofexperience?
Foritisnotthe'thought'(anaccompanyingmentalphenomenon)butitsuse(somethingthatsurroundsit),thatdistinguishesthelogicalpropositionfromtheempiricalone.
Page19
20.(Thewrongpictureconfuses,therightpicturehelps.)
Page19
21.Thequestionwillbe,e.g.:canyouteachthemeaningof"saturatedgreen"byteaching1themeaningof
"saturatedred",or"yellow",or"blue"?
Page19
22.Ashine,a'high-light'cannotbeblack.IfIweretosubstituteblacknessforthelightnessofhigh-lightsinapicture,Iwouldn'tgetblacklights.Andthatisnotsimplybecausethisistheoneandonlyforminwhichahigh-lightoccursinnature,butalsobecausewereacttoalightinthisspotinacertainway.Aflagmaybeyellowandblack,anotheryellowandwhite.
Page19
23.Transparencypaintedinapictureproducesitseffectinadifferentwaythanopaqueness.
Page19
24.Whyistransparentwhiteimpossible?--Paintatransparentredbody,andthensubstitutewhiteforred!
Blackandwhitethemselveshaveahandinthebusiness,wherewehavetransparencyofacolour.Substitutewhiteforredandyounolongerhavetheimpressionoftransparency;justasyounolongerhavetheimpressionofsolidityifyouturnthisdrawing
intothisone
.
27.3
Page19
25.Whyisn'tasaturatedcoloursimply:this,orthis,orthis,orthis?--
Becausewerecognizeitordetermineitinadifferentway.
Page19
26.Somethingthatmaymakeussuspiciousisthatsomepeoplehavethoughttheyrecognizedthreeprimarycolours,somefour.Somehavethoughtgreentobeanintermediarycolourbetweenblueandyellow,whichstrikesme,forexample,aswrong,evenapartfromanyexperience.
PageBreak20
Page20
Blueandyellow,aswellasredandgreen,seemtometobeopposites--butperhapsthatissimplybecauseIamusedtoseeingthematoppositepointsonthecolourcircle.
Indeed,what(sotospeakpsychological)importancedoesthequestionastothenumberofPureColourshaveforme?
Page20
27.Iseemtoseeonethingthatisoflogicalimportance:ifyoucallgreenanintermediarycolourbetweenblueandyellow,thenyoumustalsobeabletosay,forexample,whataslightlybluishyellowis,oranonlysomewhatyellowishblue.Andtometheseexpressionsdon'tmeananythingatall.Butmightn'ttheymeansomethingtosomeoneelse?
Soifsomeonedescribedthecolourofawalltomebysaying:"Itwasasomewhatreddishyellow,"IcouldunderstandhiminsuchawaythatIcouldchooseapproximatelytherightcolourfromamonganumberofsamples.
Butifsomeonedescribedthecolourinthisway:"Itwasasomewhatbluishyellow,"Icouldnotshowhimsuchasample.--Hereweusuallysay
thatintheonecasewecanimaginethecolour,andintheotherwecan't--butthiswayofspeakingismisleading,forthereisnoneedwhatsoevertothinkofanimagethatappearsbeforetheinnereye.
Page20
28.Thereissuchathingasperfectpitchandtherearepeoplewhodon'thaveit;similarlywecouldsupposethattherecouldbeagreatrangeofdifferenttalentswithrespecttoseeingcolours.Compare,forexample,theconcept
'saturatedcolour'with'warmcolour'.Mustitbethecasethateveryoneknows'warm'and'cool'colours?Apartfrombeingtaughttogivethisorthatnametoacertaindisjunctionofcolours.
Couldn'ttherebeapainter,forexample,whohadnoconceptwhatsoeverof'fourpurecolours'andwhoevenfounditridiculoustotalkaboutsuchathing?
Page20
29.Orinotherwords:arepeopleforwhomthisconceptisnotatallnaturalmissinganything?
Page20
30.Askthisquestion:Doyouknowwhat"reddish"means?Andhowdoyoushowthatyouknowit?
Language-games:"Pointtoareddishyellow(white,blue,brown)--"Pointtoanevenmorereddishone"--"Alessreddishone"etc.
PageBreak21
Nowthatyou'vemasteredthisgameyouwillbetold"Pointtoa
somewhatreddishgreen"Assumetherearetwocases:Eitheryoudopointtoacolour(andalwaysthesameone),perhapstoanolivegreen--oryousay,"Idon'tknowwhatthatmeans,"or"There'snosuchthing."
Wemightbeinclinedtosaythattheonepersonhadadifferentcolourconceptfromtheother;oradifferentconceptof'...ish.'
Page21
31.Wespeakof"colour-blindness"andcallitadefect.Buttherecouldeasilybeseveraldifferingabilities,noneofwhichisclearlyinferiortotheothers.--Andremember,too,thatamanmaygothroughlifewithouthiscolour-blindnessbeingnoticed,untilsomespecialoccasionbringsittolight.
Page21
32.Isitpossiblethenfordifferentpeopleinthiswaytohavedifferentcolourconcepts?--Somewhatdifferentones.
Differentwithrespecttooneoranotherfeature.Andthatwillimpairtheirmutualunderstandingtoagreaterorlesserextent,butoftenhardlyatall.
Page21
33.HereIwouldliketomakeageneralobservationconcerningthenatureofphilosophicalproblems.Lackofclarityinphilosophyistormenting.Itisfeltasshameful.Wefeel:wedonotknowourwayaboutwhereweshouldknowourwayabout.Andneverthelessitisn'tso.Wecangetalongverywellwithoutthesedistinctionsandwithoutknowingourwayabouthere.
Page21
34.Whatistheconnectionbetweentheblendingofcoloursand'intermediarycolours'?Wecanobviouslyspeakofintermediarycoloursinalanguage-gameinwhichwedonotproducecoloursbymixingatall,butonlyselectexistingshades.
Yetoneuseoftheconceptofanintermediarycolouristorecognizetheblendofcolourswhichproducesagivenshade.
Page21
35.Lichtenbergsaysthatveryfewpeoplehaveeverseenpurewhite.Domostpeopleusethewordwrong,then?
Andhowdidhelearnthecorrectuse?--Onthecontrary:heconstructedanidealusefromtheactualone.Thewayweconstructageometry.And'ideal'doesnotmeansomethingspeciallygood,butonlysomethingcarriedtoextremes.
Page21
36.Andofcoursesuchaconstructcaninturnteachussomethingabouttheactualuse.
PageBreak22
Page22
Andwecouldalsointroduceanewconceptof'purewhite',e.g.forscientificpurposes.
(Anewconceptofthissortwouldthencorrespondto,say,thechemicalconceptofa'salt'.)Page22
37.Towhatextentcanwecompareblackandwhitetoyellow,redandblue,andtowhatextentcan'twe?
Ifwehadacheckedwall-paperwithred,blue,green,yellow,blackandwhitesquares,wewouldnotbeinclinedtosaythatitismadeupoftwokindsofparts,of'coloured'and,say,'uncoloured'ones.
Page22
38.Letusnowsupposethatpeopledidn'tcontrastcolouredpictureswithblack-and-whiteones,butratherwithblue-and-whiteones.I.e.:couldn'tbluetoobefelt(andthatistosay,used)asnotbeinganactualcolour?
Page22
39.Myfeelingisthatblueobliteratesyellow,--butwhyshouldn'tIcallasomewhatgreenishyellowa"bluishyellow"
andgreenanintermediarycolourbetweenblueandyellow,andastronglybluishgreenasomewhatyellowishblue?
Page22
40.InagreenishyellowIdon'tyetnoticeanythingblue.--Forme,greenisonespecialway-stationonthecolouredpathfrombluetoyellow,andredisanother.
Page22
41.Whatadvantagewouldsomeonehaveovermewhoknewadirectroutefrombluetoyellow?AndwhatshowsthatIdon'tknowsuchapath?--Doeseverythingdependonmyrangeofpossiblelanguage-gamswiththeform"...
ish"?
Page22
42.Wewill,therefore,havetoaskourselves:Whatwoulditbelikeifpeopleknewcolourswhichourpeoplewithnormalvisiondonotknow?Ingeneralthisquestionwillnotadmitofanunambiguousanswer.Foritisbynomeansclearthatwemustsayofthissortofabnormalpeoplethattheyknowothercolours.Thereis,afterall,nocommonlyacceptedcriterionforwhatisacolour,unlessitisoneofourcolours.
Andyetwecouldimaginecircumstancesunderwhichwewouldsay,"Thesepeopleseeothercoloursinadditiontoours."
PageBreak23
Page23
28.3
43.Inphilosophyitisnotenoughtolearnineverycasewhatistobesaidaboutasubject,butalsohowonemustspeakaboutit.Wearealwayshavingtobeginbylearningthemethodoftacklingit.
Page23
44.Oragain:Inanyseriousquestionuncertaintyextendstotheveryrootsoftheproblem.
Page23
45.Onemustalwayshepreparedtolearnsomethingtotallynew.
Page23
46.Amongthecolours:KinshipandContrast.(Andthatislogic.)
Page23
47.Whatdoesitmeantosay,"Brownisakintoyellow?"
Page23
48.Doesitmeanthatthetaskofchoosingasomewhatbrownishyellowwouldbereadilyunderstood?(Orasomewhatmoreyellowishbrown).
Page23
49.Thecolouredintermediarybetweentwocolours.
Page23
50."Yellowismoreakintoredthantoblue."
Page23
51.Thedifferencesbetweenblack-red-goldandblack-red-yellow.Goldcountsasacolourhere.
Page23
52.Itisafactthatwecancommunicatewithoneanotheraboutthecoloursofthingsbymeansofsixcolourwords.
Also,thatwedonotusethewords"reddish-green","yellowish-blue"etc.
Page23
53.Descriptionofajig-sawpuzzlebymeansofthedescriptionofitspieces.Iassumethatthesepiecesneverexhibitathree-dimensionalform,butalwaysappearassmallflatbits,single-ormany-coloured.Onlywhentheyareputtogetherdoessomethingbecomea'shadow',a'high-light',a'concaveorconvexmonochromaticsurface',etc.
Page23
54.Icansay:Thismandoesnotdistinguishbetweenredandgreen.ButcanIsaythatwenormalpeopledistinguishbetweenredandgreen?Wecould,however,say:"Hereweseetwocolours,heseesonlyone."
PageBreak24
Page24
55.Thedescriptionofthephenomenaofcolour-blindnessispartofpsychology.Andthedescriptionofthephenomenaofnormalcolourvisiontoo?Ofcourse--butwhatarethepresuppositionsofsuchadescriptionandforwhomisitadescription?Orbetter:whatarethemeansitemploys?WhenIsay,"Whatdoesitpresuppose?"thatmeans"Howmustonereacttothisdescriptioninordertounderstandit?"Someonewhodescribesthephenomenaofcolour-blindnessinabookdescribesthemintheconceptsofthesighted.
Page24
56.Thispaperislighterinsomeplacesthaninothers;butcanIsaythatitiswhiteonlyincertainplacesandgrayinothers??--Certainly,ifIpaintedit,Iwouldmixagrayforthedarkerplaces.
Asurface-colourisaqualityofasurface.Onemight(therefore)betemptednottocallitapurecolourconcept.Butthenwhatwouldapureonebe?!
Page24
57.Itisnotcorrecttosaythatinapicturewhitemustalwaysbethelightestcolour.Butitmustbethelightestoneinaflatpatternofcolouredpatches.Apicturemightshowabookmadeofwhitepaperinshadow,andlighterthanthisaluminousyelloworblueorreddishsky.ButifI
describeaplanesurface,awallpaper,forexample,bysayingthatitconsistsofpureyellow,red,blue,whiteandblacksquares,theyellowonescannotbelighterthanthewhiteones,andtheredcannotbelighterthantheyellow.
ThisiswhycolourswereshadowsforGoethe.
Page24
58.Thereseemstobeamorefundamental'colourconceptthanthatofthesurfacecolour.Itseemsthatonecouldpresentiteitherbymeansofsmallcolouredelementsinthefieldofvision,orbymeansofluminouspointsratherlikestars.Andlargercolouredareasarecomposedofthesecolouredpointsorsmallcolouredpatches.Thuswecoulddescribethecolourimpressionofasurfaceareabyspecifyingthepositionofthenumeroussmallcolouredpatcheswithinthisarea.
Buthowshouldwe,forexample,compareoneofthesesmallcoloursampleswithapieceofthelargersurfacearea?Inwhatsurroundingsshouldthecoloursampleoccur?
PageBreak25
Page25
59.Ineverydaylifewearevirtuallysurroundedbyimpurecolours.Allthemoreremarkablethatwehaveformedaconceptofpurecolours.
Page25
29.3
60.Whydon'twespeakofa'pure'brown?Isthereasonmerelythepositionofbrownwithrespecttotheother'pure'
colours,itsrelationshiptothemall?--Brownis,aboveall,asurfacecolour,i.e.thereisnosuchthingasaclearbrown,butonlyamuddyone.Also:browncontainsblack--(?)--Howwouldapersonhavetobehaveforustosayofhimthatheknowsapure,primarybrown?
Page25
61.Wemustalwaysbearinmindthequestion:Howdopeoplelearnthemeaningofcolournames?
Page25
62.Whatdoes,"Browncontainsblack,"mean?Therearemoreandlessblackishbrowns.Isthereonewhichisn'tblackishatall?Therecertainlyisn'tonethatisn'tyellowishatall.1
Page25
63.Ifwecontinuetothinkalongtheselines,'internalproperties'ofacolourgraduallyoccurtous,whichwehadn'tthoughtofattheoutset.Andthatcanshowusthecourseofaphilosophicalinvestigation.Wemustalwaysbepreparedtocomeacrossanewone,onethathasnotoccurredtousearlier.
Page25
64.Andwemustnotforgeteitherthatourcolourwordscharacterizetheimpressionofasurfaceoverwhichourglancewanders.That'swhatthey'refor.
Page25
65."Brownlight".Supposesomeoneweretosuggestthatatrafficlightbebrown.
Page25
66.Itisonlytobeexpectedthatwewillfindadjectives(as,forexample,"iridescent")whicharecolourcharacteristicsofanextendedareaorofasmallexpanseinaparticularsurrounding"shimmering","glittering",
"gleaming","luminous").
Page25
67.Andindeedthepurecoloursdonotevenhavespecialcommonlyusednames,that'showunimportanttheyaretous.
PageBreak26
Page26
68.Letusimaginethatsomeoneweretopaintsomethingfromnatureandinitsnaturalcolours.Everybitofthesurfaceofsuchapaintinghasadefinitecolour.Whatcolour?HowdoIdetermineitsname?Shouldwe,e.g.usethenameunderwhichthepigmentappliedtoitissold?Butmightn'tsuchapigmentlookcompletelydifferentinitsspecialsurroundingthanonthepalette?
Page26
69.Soperhapswewouldthenstarttogivespecialnamestosmallcolouredpatchesonablackbackground(forexample).
WhatIreallywanttoshowhereisthatitisnotatallclearaprioriwhicharethesimplecolourconcepts.
30.3
Page26
70.Itisnottruethatadarkercolourisatthesametimeamoreblackishone.That'scertainlyclear.Asaturatedyellowisdarker,butisnotmoreblackishthanawhitishyellow.Butamberisn'ta'blackishyellow'either.(?)Andyetpeoplespeakofa'black'glassormirror.--Perhapsthetroubleisthatby"black"Imeanessentiallyasurfacecolour?
Iwouldnotsayofarubythatitisblackishred,forthatwouldsuggestcloudiness.(Ontheotherhand,don'tforgetthatbothcloudinessandtransparencycanbepainted.)Page26
71.Itreatcolourconceptsliketheconceptsofsensations.
Page26
72.Thecolourconceptsaretobetreatedliketheconceptsofsensations.
Page26
73.Thereisnosuchthingasthepurecolourconcept.
Page26
74.Wheredoestheillusioncomefromthen?Aren'twedealingherewithaprematuresimplificationoflogiclikeanyother?
Page26
75.I.e.,thevariouscolourconceptsarecertainlycloselyrelatedtooneanother,thevarious'colourwords'havearelateduse,butthereare,ontheotherhand,allkindsofdifferences.
Page26
76.Rungesaysthattherearetransparentandopaquecolours.Butthisdoesnotmeanthatyouwouldusedifferentgreenstopaintapieceof
greenglassandagreenclothinapicture.
PageBreak27
Page27
77.Itisapeculiarsteptakeninpainting,thatofdepictingahighlightbymeansofacolour.
Page27
78.Theindefinitenessintheconceptofcolourlies,aboveall,intheindefinitenessoftheconceptofthesamenessofcolours,i.e.ofthemethodofcomparingcolours.
Page27
79.Thereisgoldpaint,butRembrandtdidn'tuseittopaintagoldenhelmet.
Page27
80.Whatmakesgreyaneutralcolour?Isitsomethingphysiologicalorsomethinglogical?
Whatmakesbrightcoloursbright?Isitaconceptualmatteroramatterofcauseandeffect?
Whydon'tweincludeblackandwhiteinthecolourcircle?Onlybecausewehaveafeelingthatit'swrong?
Page27
81.Thereisnosuchthingasluminousgrey.Isthatpartoftheconceptofgrey,orpartofthepsychology,i.e.thenaturalhistory,ofgrey?Andisn't
itoddthatIdon'tknow?
Page27
82.Colourshavecharacteristiccausesandeffects--thatwedoknow.
Page27
83.Greyisbetweentwoextremes(blackandwhite),andcantakeonthehueofanyothercolour.
Page27
84.Woulditbeconceivableforsomeonetoseeasblackeverythingthatweseeaswhite,andviceversa?
Page27
85.Inabrightlycolouredpatternblackandwhitecanbenexttoredandgreen,etc.withoutstandingoutasdifferent.
Thiswouldnotbethecase,however,inthecolourcircle,ifonlybecauseblackandwhitemixwithalltheothercolours.Butalsoinparticular,theybothmixwiththeiroppositepole.
Page27
86.Can'tweimaginepeoplehavingageometryofcoloursdifferentfromournormalone?Andthat,ofcourse,means:canwedescribeit,canweimmediatelyrespondtotherequesttodescribeit,thatis,doweknowunambiguouslywhatisbeingdemandedofus?
Thedifficultyisobviouslythis:isn'titpreciselythegeometryofcoloursthatshowsuswhatwe'retalkingabout,i.e.thatwearetalkingaboutcolours?
PageBreak28
Page28
87.Thedifficultyofimaginingit(oroffillingoutthepictureofit)isinknowingwhenonehaspicturedthat.I.e.theindefinitenessoftherequesttoimagineit.
Page28
88.Thedifficultyis,therefore,oneofknowingwhatwearesupposedtoconsiderastheanalogueofsomethingthatisfamiliartous.
Page28
89.Acolourwhichwouldbe'dirty'ifitwerethecolourofawall,needn'tbesoinapainting.
Page28
90.IdoubtthatGoethe'sremarksaboutthecharactersofthecolourscouldbeofanyusetoapainter.Theycouldhardlybeanytoadecorator.
Page28
91.Iftherewereatheoryofcolourharmony,perhapsitwouldbeginbydividingthecoloursintodifferentgroupsandforbiddingcertainmixturesorcombinationsandallowingothers;and,asinharmony,itsruleswouldbegivennojustification.
Page28
92.Mayn'tthatopenoureyestothenatureofthosedifferentiationsamongcolours?
Page28
93.[Wedon'tsayAknowssomethingandBknowstheopposite.Butifwesay"believes"insteadof"knows",thenitisaproposition.]
Page28
94.RungetoGoethe:"Ifweweretothinkofabluishorange,areddishgreenorayellowishviolet,wewouldhavethesamefeelingasinthecaseofasouthwesterlynorthwind."
Also:whatamountstothesamething,"Bothwhiteandblackareopaqueorsolid....Whitewaterwhichispureisasinconceivableasclearmilk.Ifblackmerelymadethingsdark,itcouldindeedbeclear;butbecauseitsmirchesthings,itcan'tbe."
Page28
95.InmyroomIamsurroundedbyobjectsofdifferentcolours.Itiseasytosaywhatcolourtheyare.ButifIwereaskedwhatcolourIamnowseeingfromhereat,say,thisplaceonmytable,Icouldn'tanswer;theplaceiswhitish(becausethelightwallmakesthebrowntablelighterhere)atanyrateitismuchlighterthantherestofthetable,but,givenanumberofcoloursamples,Iwouldn'tbeabletopickoutonewhichhadthesamecolorationasthisareaofthetable.
PageBreak29
Page29
96.Becauseitseemssotome--ortoeverybody--itdoesnotfollowthatitisso.
Therefore:Fromthefactthatthistableseemsbrowntoeveryone,itdoesnotfollowthatitisbrown.Butjustwhatdoesitmeantosay,"Thistable
isn'treallybrownafterall"?--Sodoesitthenfollowfromitsappearingbrowntous,thatitisbrown?
Page29
97.Don'twejustcallbrownthetablewhichundercertaincircumstancesappearsbrowntothenormal-sighted?Wecouldcertainlyconceiveofsomeonetowhomthingsseemedsometimesthiscolourandsometimesthat,independentlyofthecolourtheyare.
Page29
98.Thatitseemssotomenistheircriterionforitsbeingso.
Page29
99.Beingandseemingmay,ofcourse,beindependentofoneanotherinexceptionalcases,butthatdoesn'tmakethemlogicallyindependent;thelanguage-gamedoesnotresideintheexception.
Page29
100.Goldenisasurfacecolour.
Page29
101.Wehaveprejudiceswithrespecttotheuseofwords.
Page29
102.Whenwe'reasked"Whatdo'red','blue','black','white,mean?"wecan,ofcourse,immediatelypointtothingswhichhavethesecolours,--butthat'sallwecando:ourabilitytoexplaintheirmeaninggoesnofurther.
Page29
103.Fortherest,eitherwehavenoideaatall,oraveryroughandtosomeextentfalseone.
Page29
104.'Dark'and'blackish'arenotthesameconcept.
Page29
105.Rungesaysthatblack'dirties';whatdoesthatmean?Isthatanemotionaleffectwhichblackhasonus?Isitaneffectoftheadditionofblackcolourthatismeanthere?
Page29
106.Whyisitthatadarkyellowdoesn'thavetobeperceivedas'blackish',evenifwecallitdark?
Thelogicoftheconceptofcolourisjustmuchmorecomplicatedthanitmightseem.
PageBreak30
Page30
107.Theconcepts'matt'and'shiny'.If,whenwethinkof'colour'wethinkofapropertyofapointinspace,thentheconceptsmattandshinyhavenoreferencetothesecolourconcepts.
Page30
108.Thefirst'solution'whichoccurstousfortheproblemofcoloursisthatthe'pure'colourconceptsrefertopointsortinyindivisiblepatchesin
space.Question:howarewetocomparethecoloursoftwosuchpoints?Simplybylettingone'sgazemovefromonetotheother?Orbymovingacolouredobject?Ifthelatter,howdoweknowthatthisobjecthasnotchangedcolourintheprocess;iftheformer,howcanwecomparethecolouredpointswithoutthecomparisonbeinginfluencedbywhatsurroundsthem?
Page30
109.Icouldimaginealogicianwhotellsusthathehasnowsucceededinreallybeingabletothink22=4.
Page30
110.Ifyouarenotclearabouttheroleoflogicincolourconcepts,beginwiththesimplecaseof,e.g.ayellowishred.
Thisexists,noonedoubtsthat.HowdoIlearntheuseoftheword"yellowish"?Throughlanguage-gamesinwhich,forexample,thingsareputinacertainorder.
ThusIcanlearn,inagreementwithotherpeople,torecognizeyellowishandstillmoreyellowishred,green,brownandwhite.
Page30
InthecourseofthisIlearntoproceedindependentlyjustasIdoinarithmetic.Onepersonmayreacttotheordertofindayellowishbluebyproducingabluegreen,anothermaynotunderstandtheorder.Whatdoesthisdependupon?
Page30
111.Isayblue-greencontainsnoyellow:ifsomeoneelseclaimsthatitcertainlydoescontainyellow,who'sright?
Howcanwecheck?Isthereonlyaverbaldifferencebetweenus?--Won'ttheonerecognizeapuregreenthattendsneithertowardbluenortowardyellow?Andofwhatuseisthis?Inwhatlanguage-gamescanitbeused?Hewillatleastbeabletorespondtothecommandtopickoutthegreenthingsthatcontainnoyellow,andthosethatcontainnoblue.Andthisconstitutesthedemarcationpoint'green',whichtheotherdoesnotknow.
Page30
112.Theonecanlearnalanguage-gamethattheotheronecannot.Andindeedthismustbewhatconstitutescolour-blindnessofall
PageBreak31
kinds.Forifthe'colour-blind'personcouldlearnallthelanguage-gamesofnormalpeople,whyshouldhebeexcludedfromcertainprofessions?
Page31
113.IfsomeonehadcalledthisdifferencebetweengreenandorangetoRunge'sattention,perhapshewouldhavegivenuptheideathatthereareonlythreeprimarycolours.
Page31
114.Nowtowhatextentisitamatteroflogicratherthanpsychologythatsomeonecanorcannotlearnagame?
Page31
115.Isay:Thepersonwhocannotplaythisgamedoesnothavethisconcept.
Page31
116.Whohastheconcept'tomorrow'?Ofwhomdowesaythis?
Page31
117.Isawinaphotographaboywithslicked-backblondhairandadirtylight-colouredjacket,andamanwithdarkhair,standinginfrontofamachinewhichwasmadeinpartofcastingspaintedblack,andinpartoffinished,smoothaxles,gears,etc.,andnexttoitagratingmadeoflightgalvanizedwire.Thefinishedironpartswereironcoloured,theboy'shairwasblond,thecastingsblack,thegratingzinc-coloured,despitethefactthateverythingwasdepictedsimplyinlighteranddarkershadesofthephotographicpaper.
Page31
118.Theremaybementaldefectiveswhocannotbetaughttheconcept'tomorrow'ortheconcept'I',nortotelltime.
Suchwouldnotlearntheuseoftheword'tomorrow'etc.
Page31
119.NowtowhomcanIcommunicatewhatthismentaldefectivecannotlearn.?Justtowhoeverhaslearnedithimself?Can'tItellsomeonethatso-and-socannotlearnhighermathematics,evenifthispersonhimselfhasn'tmasteredit?Andyet:doesn'tthepersonwhohaslearnedhighermathematicsknowmorepreciselywhatImean?
Doesn'tthepersonwhohaslearnedthegameunderstandtheword'chess'differentlyfromsomeonewhodoesn'tknowit?Whatdowecall"describingatechnique"?
PageBreak32
Page32
120.Or:Donormallysightedpeopleandcolour-blindpeoplehavethesameconceptofcolour-blindness?
Andyetthecolour-blindpersonunderstandsthestatement"Iamcolour-blind",anditsnegationaswell.
Acolour-blindpersonnotmerelycan'tlearntouseourcolourwords,hecan'tlearntousetheword
"colour-blind"exactlyasanormalpersondoes.Hecannotforexamplealwaysdeterminecolour-blindnessincaseswherethenormal-sightedcan.
Page32
121.AndtowhomcanIdescribeallthethingswenormalpeoplecanlearn?
Understandingthedescriptionitselfalreadypresupposesthathehaslearnedsomething.
Page32
122.HowcanIdescribetosomeonehowweusetheword"tomorrow"?Icanteachittoachild;butthisdoesnotmeanI'mdescribingitsusetohim.
ButcanIdescribethepracticeofpeoplewhohaveaconcept,e.g.'reddish-green',thatwedon'tpossess?--InanycaseIcertainlycan'tteachthispracticetoanyone.
Page32
123.CanIthenonlysay:"Thesepeoplecallthis(brown,forexample)reddishgreen"?Wouldn'titthenjustbeanotherwordforsomethingthatI
haveawordfor?IftheyreallyhaveadifferentconceptthanIdo,thismustbeshownbythefactthatIcan'tquitefigureouttheiruseofwords.
Page32
124.ButIhavekeptonsayingthatit'sconceivableforourconceptstobedifferentthantheyare.Wasthatallnonsense?
11.4
Page32
125.Goethe'stheoryoftheoriginofthespectrumisn'tatheoryofitsoriginthathasprovedunsatisfactory;itisreallynotatheoryatall.Nothingcanbepredictedbymeansofit.Itis,rather,avagueschematicoutline,ofthesortwefindinJames'spsychology.ThereisnoexperimentumcrucisforGoethe'stheoryofcolour.
SomeonewhoagreeswithGoethefindsthatGoethecorrectlyrecognizedthenatureofcolour.Andhere
'nature'doesnotmeanasumofexperienceswithrespecttocolours,butitistobefoundintheconceptofcolour.
PageBreak33
Page33
126.OnethingwascleartoGoethe:nolightnesscancomeoutofdarkness-justasmoreandmoreshadowsdonotproducelight.Thiscouldhoweverbeexpressedasfollows:wemay,forexample,calllilaca"reddish-whitish-blue",orbrowna"reddish-blackish-yellow",butwecannotcallwhitea"yellowish-reddish-greenish-blue"(orthelike).
AndthatissomethingthatNewtondidn'tproveeither.Whiteisnota
blendofcoloursinthissense.
12.4
Page33
127.'Thecolours'arenotthingsthathavedefiniteproperties,sothatonecouldstraightofflookfororimaginecoloursthatwedon'tyetknow,orimaginesomeonewhoknowsdifferentonesthanwedo.Itisquitepossiblethat,undercertaincircumstances,wewouldsaythatpeopleknowcoloursthatwedon'tknow,butwearenotforcedtosaythis,forthereisnoindicationastowhatweshouldregardasadequateanalogiestoourcolours,inordertobeabletosayit.Thisislikethecaseinwhichwespeakofinfra-red'light';thereisagoodreasonfordoingit,butwecanalsocallitamisuse.
Andsomethingsimilaristruewithmyconcept'havingpaininsomeoneelse'sbody'.
Page33
128.Therecouldveryeasilybeatribeofpeoplewhoareallcolour-blindandwhononethelessliveverywell;butwouldtheyhavedevelopedallourcolournames,andhowwouldtheirnomenclaturecorrespondtoours?Whatwouldtheirnaturallanguagebelike??Doweknow?Wouldtheyperhapshavethreeprimarycolours:blue,yellowandathirdwhichtakestheplaceofredandgreen?--Whatifweweretoencountersuchatribeandwantedtolearntheirlanguage?Wewouldnodoubtrunintocertaindifficulties.
Page33
129.Couldn'ttherebepeoplewhodidn'tunderstandourwayofspeakingwhenwesaythatorangeisareddish-yellow(etc.)andwhowereonlyinclinedtosaythisincasesinwhichorangeoccursinanactualtransition
fromredtoyellow?Andforsuchpeopletheremightverywellbeareddishgreen.
Page33
Therefore,theycouldn't'analyseblendsofcolours'norcouldtheylearnouruseofX-ishY.(Likepeoplewithoutperfectpitch).
Page33
130.Andwhataboutpeoplewhoonlyhadcolour-shapeconcepts?ShouldIsayofthemthattheydonotseethatagreenleafanda
PageBreak34
greentable--whenIshowthemthesethings--havethesamecolourorhavesomethingincommon?Whatifithadnever'occurredtothem'tocomparedifferentlyshapedobjectsofthesamecolourwithoneanother?Duetotheirparticularbackground,thiscomparisonwasofnoimportancetothem,orhadimportanceonlyinveryexceptionalcases,sothatnolinguistictoolwasdeveloped.
Page34
131.Alanguage-game:reportonthegreaterlightnessordarknessofbodies.--Butnowthereisarelatedone:statetherelationshipbetweenthelightnessofcertaincolours.(Compare:therelationshipbetweenthelengthsoftwogivensticks-therelationshipbetweentwogivennumbers.)
Theformofthepropositionsisthesameinbothcases("XlighterthanY").Butinthefirstlanguage-gametheyaretemporalandinthesecondnon-temporal.
Page34
132.Inaparticularmeaningof"white"whiteisthelightestcolourofall.
Inapictureinwhichapieceofwhitepapergetsitslightnessfromthebluesky,theskyislighterthanthewhitepaper.Andyetinanothersenseblueisthedarkerandwhitethelightercolour(Goethe).Withawhiteandablueonthepalette,theformerwouldbelighterthanthelatter.Onthepalette,whiteisthelightestcolour.
Page34
133.Imayhaveimpressedacertaingrey-greenuponmymemorysothatIcanalwayscorrectlyidentifyitwithoutasample.Purered(blue,etc.)however,Ican,sotospeak,alwaysreconstruct.Itissimplyaredthattendsneithertoonesidenortotheother,andIrecognizeitwithoutasample,ase.g.Idoarightangle,bycontrastwithanarbitraryacuteorobtuseangle.
Page34
134.Nowinthissensetherearefour(or,withwhiteandblack,six)purecolours.
Page34
135.Anaturalhistoryofcolourswouldhavetoreportontheiroccurrenceinnature,notontheiressence.Itspropositionswouldhavetobetemporalones.
Page34
136.Byanalogywiththeothercolours,ablackdrawingonawhitebackgroundseenthroughatransparentwhiteglasswouldhaveto
PageBreak35
appearunchangedasablackdrawingonawhitebackground.Fortheblackmustremainblackandthewhite,becauseitisalsothecolourofthetransparentbody,remainsunchanged.
Page35
137.Wecouldimagineaglassthroughwhichblacklookedlikeblack,whitelikewhite,andalltheothercoloursappearedasshadesofgrey;sothatseenthroughiteverythingappearsasthoughinaphotograph.
ButwhyshouldIcallthat"whiteglass"?
Page35
138.Thequestionis:isconstructinga'transparentwhitebody'likeconstructinga'regularbiangle'?
Page35
139.Icanlookatabodyandperhapsseeamattwhitesurface,i.e.gettheimpressionofsuchasurface,ortheimpressionoftransparency(whetheritactuallyexistsornot).Thisimpressionmaybeproducedbythedistributionofthecolours,andwhiteandtheothercoloursarenotinvolvedinitinthesameway.
(Itookagreenpaintedleadcupolatobetranslucentgreenishglasswithoutknowingatthetimeaboutthespecialdistributionofcoloursthatproducedthisappearance.)
Page35
140.Andwhitemayindeedoccurinthevisualimpressionofatransparentbody,forexampleasareflection,asahigh-light.I.e.iftheimpressionisperceivedastransparent,thewhitewhichweseewillsimplynotbeinterpretedasthebody'sbeingwhite.
Page35
141.Ilookthroughatransparentglass:doesitfollowthatIdon'tseewhite?No,butIdon'tseetheglassaswhite.
Buthowdoesthiscomeabout?Itcanhappeninvariousways.Imayseethewhitewithbotheyesaslyingbehindtheglass.ButsimplyinvirtueofitspositionImayalsoseethewhiteasahigh-light(evenwhenitisn't).Andyetwe'redealingherewithseeing,notjusttakingsomethingtobesuch-and-such.Norisitatallnecessarytousebotheyesinordertoseesomethingaslyingbehindtheglass.
Page35
142.Thevarious'colours'donotallhavethesameconnexionwiththree-dimensionalvision.
PageBreak36
Page36
143.Anditdoesn'tmatterwhetherweexplainthisintermsofchildhoodexperienceornot.
Page36
144.Itmustbetheconnectionbetweenthree-dimensionality,lightandshadow.
Page36
145.Norcanwesaythatwhiteisessentiallythepropertyofa--visual--surface.Foritisconceivablethatwhiteshouldoccurasahigh-lightorasthecolourofaflame.
Page36
146.Abodythatisactuallytransparentcan,ofcourse,seemwhitetous;butitcannotseemwhiteandtransparent.
Page36
147.Butweshouldnotexpressthisbysaying:whiteisnotatransparentcolour.
Page36
148.'Transparent'couldbecomparedwith'reflecting'.
Page36
149.Anelementofvisualspacemaybewhiteorred,butcan'tbeeithertransparentoropaque.
Page36
150.Transparencyandreflectiononlyexistinthedimensionofdepthofavisualimage.
Page36
151.Whycan'tamonochromaticsurfaceinthefieldofvisionbeamber-coloured?Thiscolour-wordreferstoatransparentmedium;thusifapainterpaintsaglasswithamber-colouredwineinit,youcouldcallthesurfaceofthepicturewherethisisdepicted"amber-coloured",butyoucouldnotsaythisofanyonemonochromaticelementofthissurface.
Page36
152.Mightn'tshinyblackandmattblackhavedifferentcolour-names?
Page36
153.Wedon'tsayofsomethingwhichlookstransparentthatitlookswhite.
Page36
154."Can'tweimaginepeoplehavingadifferentgeometryofcolourthanwedo?"--That,ofcourse,means:Can'tweimaginepeoplewhohavecolourconceptswhichareotherthanours;andthatinturnmeans:Can'tweimaginethatpeopledonothaveourcolourconceptsandthattheyhaveconceptswhicharerelatedtooursinsuchawaythatwewouldalsowanttocallthem"colourconcepts"?
PageBreak37
Page37
155.1Ifpeoplewereusedtoseeingnothingbutgreensquaresandredcircles,theymightregardagreencirclewiththesamekindofmistrustwithwhichtheywouldregardafreak,and,forexample,theymightevensayitisreallyaredcircle,buthassomethingofa...1
Ifpeopleonlyhadcolour-shapeconcepts,theywouldhaveaspecialwordforaredsquareandoneforaredcircle,andoneforagreencircle,etc.Nowiftheyweretoseeanewgreenfigure,shouldnosimilaritytothegreencircle,etc.occurtothem?Andshouldn'titoccurtothemthatthereisasimilaritybetweengreencirclesandredcircles?ButwhatdoIwanttosaycountsasshowingthatthissimilarityhasoccurredtothem?
Theymight,forexample,haveaconceptof'goingtogether';andstillnotthinkofusingcolourwords.
Infacttherearetribeswhichonlycountupto5andtheyhaveprobablynotfeltitnecessarytodescribeanythingthatcan'tbedescribedinthis
way.
Page37
156.Runge:"Blackdirties".Thatmeansittakesthebrightnessoutofacolour,butwhatdoesthatmean?Blacktakesawaytheluminosityofacolour.Butisthatsomethinglogicalorsomethingpsychological?Thereissuchathingasaluminousred,aluminousblue,etc.,butnoluminousblack.Blackisthe,darkestofthecolours.Wesay"deepblack"
butnot"deepwhite".
Buta'luminousred'doesnotmeanalightred.Adarkredcanbeluminoustoo.Butacolourisluminousasaresultofitscontext,initscontext.
Grey,however,isnotluminous.
Butblackseemstomakeacolourcloudy,butdarknessdoesn't.Arubycouldthuskeepgettingdarkerwithouteverbecomingcloudy;butifitbecameblackishred,itwouldbecomecloudy.Nowblackisasurfacecolour.
Darknessisnotcalledacolour.Inpaintingsdarknesscanalsobedepictedasblack.
Thedifferencebetweenblackand,say,adarkvioletissimilartothedifferencebetweenthesoundofabassdrumandthesoundofakettle-drum.Wesayoftheformerthatitisanoisenotatone.Itismattandabsolutelyblack.
PageBreak38
Page38
157.Lookatyourroomlateintheeveningwhenyoucanhardlydistinguishbetweencoloursanylonger;andnowturnonthelightandpaintwhatyousawinthetwilight.Therearepicturesoflandscapesorroomsinsemi-darkness:Buthowdoyoucomparethecoloursinsuchpictureswiththoseyousawinsemi-darkness?HowdifferentthiscomparisonisfromthatoftwocoloursampleswhichIhaveinfrontofmeatthesametimeandcomparebyputtingthemsidebyside!
Page38
158.Whatisthereinfavourofsayingthatgreenisaprimarycolourandnotamixtureofblueandyellow?Isitcorrecttoanswer:"Youcanonlyknowitdirectly,bylookingatthecolours"?ButhowdoIknowthatImeanthesamebythewords"primarycolours"assomeoneelsewhoisalsoinclinedtocallgreenaprimarycolour?No,heretherearelanguage-gamesthatdecidethesequestions.
Thereisamoreorlessbluish(oryellowish)greenandsomeonemaybetoldtomixagreenlessyellow(orblue)thanagivenyellow(orblue)one,ortopickoneoutfromanumberofcoloursamples.Alessyellowgreen,however,isnotabluerone(andviceversa),andsomeonemayalsobegiventhetaskofchoosing-ormixing-agreenthatisneitheryellowishnorbluish.AndIsay"ormixing",becauseagreenisnotbothyellowishandbluishonaccountofbeingproducedbymixingyellowandblue.
Page38
159.Considerthatthingscanbereflectedinasmoothwhitesurfaceinsuchawaythattheirreflectionsseemtoliebehindthesurfaceandinacertainsenseareseenthroughit.
Page38
160.IfIsayapieceofpaperispurewhiteandthenplacesnownexttoitanditthenappearsgrey,innormalsurroundingsandforordinarypurposesIwouldcallitwhiteandnotlightgrey.ItcouldbethatI'duseadifferentand,inacertainsense,morerefinedconceptofwhitein,say,alaboratory,(whereIsometimesalsouseamorerefinedconceptof'precise'determinationoftime).
Page38
161.Thepuresaturatedcoloursareessentiallycharacterizedbyacertainrelativelightness.Yellow,forexample,islighterthanred.Isredlighterthanblue?Idon'tknow.
PageBreak39
Page39
162.Someonewhohaslearnedtheconceptofintermediarycolours,whohasmasteredthetechniqueandwhothuscanfindormixshadesofcolourthataremorewhitish,moreyellowish,morebluishthanagivenshadeandsoon,isnowaskedtopickoutortomixareddishgreen.
Page39
163.Someonewhoisfamiliarwithreddishgreenshouldbeinapositiontoproduceacolourserieswhichstartswithredandendswithgreenandconstitutesforustooacontinuoustransitionbetweenthetwo.Wemightthendiscoverthatatthepointwhereweperhapsalwaysseethesameshadeofbrown,thispersonsometimesseesbrownandsometimesreddishgreen.Itmaybe,forexample,thathecandifferentiatebetweenthecoloursoftwochemicalcompoundsthatseemtoustobethesamecolour,andhecallsone"abrown"andtheother"reddishgreen".
Page39
164.Inordertodescribethephenomenonofred-greencolour-blindness,Ineedonlysaywhatsomeonewhoisred-greencolourblindcannotlearn;butnowinordertodescribethe'phenomenaofnormalvision'Iwouldhavetoenumeratethethingswecando.
Page39
165.Someonewhodescribesthe'phenomenaofcolour-blindness'describesonlythewaysinwhichthecolour-blindpersondeviatesfromthenormal,nothisvisioningeneral.
Butcouldn'tshealsodescribethewaysinwhichnormalvisiondeviatesfromtotalblindness?Wemightask:whowouldlearnfromthis?CansomeoneteachmethatIseeatree?
Andwhatisa'tree',andwhatis'seeing'?
Page39
166.Wecan,forexample,say:Thisisthewayapersonactswithablindfoldoverhiseyes,andthisisthewayasightedpersonwithoutablindfoldacts.Withablindfoldhereactsthusandso,withouttheblindfoldhewalksbrisklyalongthestreet,greetshisacquaintances,nodstothisoneandthat,avoidsthecarsandbicycleseasilywhenhecrossesthestreet,etc.,etc.Evenwithnew-borninfants,weknowthattheycanseefromthefactthattheyfollowmovementswiththeireyes.Etc.,etc..Thequestionis:whoissupposedtounderstandthedescription?Onlysightedpeople,orblindpeopletoo?
Itmakessense,forexampe[[sic]],tosay"thesightedpersondistinguisheswithhiseyesbetweenanunripeappleandaripeone."But
PageBreak40
not:"Thesightedpersondistinguishesagreenapplefromaredone."For
whatare'red'and'green'?
Marginalnote:"Thesightedpersondistinguishesanapplethatappearsredtohimfromonewhichappearsgreen."
Butcan'tIsay"Idistinguishthiskindofapplefromthiskind"(whilepointingtoaredappleandagreenone)?
Butwhatifsomeonepointsattwoapplesthatseemtometobeexactlyalikeandsaysthat?!Ontheotherhandhecouldsaytome"Bothofthemlookexactlyaliketoyou,soyoumightconfusethem;butIseeadifferenceandIcanrecognizeeachofthemanytime."Thatcanbetestedandconfirmed.
Page40
167.WhatistheexperiencethatteachesmethatIdifferentiatebetweenredandgreen?
Page40
168.Psychologydescribesthephenomenaofseeing.Forwhomdoesitdescribethem?Whatignorancecanthisdescriptioneliminate?
Page40
169.Ifasightedpersonhadneverheardofablindperson,couldn'twedescribethebehaviouroftheblindpersontohim?
Page40
170.Icansay:"Thecolour-blindpersoncannotdistinguishbetweenagreenappleandaredone"andthatcanbedemonstrated.ButcanIsay"Icandistinguishbetweenagreenappleandaredone"?Well,perhapsbythetaste.Butstill,forexample,"Icandistinguishanapplethatyoucall
'green'fromonethatyoucall'red',thereforeIamnotcolour-blind".
Page40
171.Thispieceofpapervariesinlightnessfromplacetoplace,butdoesitlookgreytomeinthedarkerplaces?Theshadowthatmyhandcastsisinpartgrey.Iseethepartsofthepaperthatarefartherawayfromthelightdarkerbutstillwhite,eventhoughIwouldhavetomixagreytopaintit.Isn'tthissimilartothefactthatweoftenseeadistantobjectmerelyasdistantandnotassmaller?Thuswecannotsay"Inoticethathelookssmaller,andIconcludefromthatthatheisfartheraway",butratherInoticethatheisfartheraway,withoutbeingabletosayhowInoticeit.
Page40
172.Theimpressionofacolouredtransparentmediumisthatsomethingisbehindthemedium.Thusifwehaveathoroughlymonochromaticvisualimage,itcannotbeoneoftransparency.
PageBreak41
Page41
173.Somethingwhitebehindacolouredtransparentmediumappearsinthecolourofthemedium,somethingblackappearsblack.Accordingtothisruleablackdrawingonwhitepaperbehindawhitetransparentmediummustappearasthoughitwerebehindacolourlessmedium.
That1wasnotapropositionofphysics,butratheraruleofthespatialinterpretationofourvisualexperience.Wecouldalsosay,itisaruleforpainters:"Ifyouwanttoportraysomethingwhitebehindsomethingthatistransparentandred,youhavetopaintitred."Ifyoupaintitwhite,itdoesn'tlookasthoughitisbehindtheredthing.
Page41
174.Intheplaceswherethereisonlyalittlelesslightonthewhitepaperitdoesn'tseematallgrey,butalwayswhite.
Page41
175.Thequestionis:Whatmustourvisualpicturebelikeifitistoshowusatransparentmedium?Howmust,e.g.,thecolourofthemediumappear?Speakinginphysicalterms--althoughwearenotdirectlyconcernedwiththelawsofphysicshere--everythingseenthroughagreenglassmustlookmoreorlessdarkgreen.Thelightestshadewouldbethatofthemedium.Thatwhichweseethroughitis,thus,similartoaphotograph.Nowifweapplyallthistowhiteglass,everythingshouldagainlookasthoughitwerephotographed,butinshadesrangingfromwhitetoblack.
Andifthereweresuchglass--whyshouldn'twewanttocallitwhite?Isthereanythingtobesaidagainstdoingthis;doestheanalogywithglassofothercoloursbreakdownatanypoint?
Page41
176.Acubeofgreenglasslooksgreenwhenit'slyinginfrontofus.Theoverallimpressionisgreen;thustheoverallimpressionofthewhitecubeshouldbewhite.
Page41
177.Wheremustthecubeappearwhiteforustobeabletocallitwhiteandtransparent?
Page41
178.Isitbecausetherelationshipsandcontrastsbetweenwhiteandthe
othercoloursaredifferentfromthosebetweengreenandtheothercolours,thatforwhitethereisnothinganalogoustoatransparentgreenglass?
PageBreak42
Page42
179.Whenlightcomesthroughitredglasscastsaredlight;nowwhatwouldlightcomingthroughawhiteglasslooklike?Wouldyellowbecomewhitishinsuchalightormerelylighter?Andwouldblackbecomegreyorwoulditremainblack?
Page42
180.Wearenotconcernedwiththefactsofphysicshereexceptinsofarastheydeterminethelawsgoverninghowthingsappear.
Page42
181.Itisnotimmediatelyclearwhichtransparentglassweshouldsayhadthe'samecolour'asapieceofgreenpaper.
Page42
182.Ifthepaperis,e.g.pink,sky-blueorlilacwewouldimaginetheglasstobesomewhatcloudy,butwecouldalsosupposeittobejustaratherweakreddish,etc.,clearglass.That'swhysomethingcolourlessissometimescalled
"white".
Page42
183.Wecouldsay,thecolourofatransparentglassisthatwhichawhite
lightsourcewouldappearwhenseenthroughthatglass.
Butseenthroughacolourlessglassitappearsasuncloudywhite.
Page42
184.Inthecinemaitisoftenpossibletoseetheeventsas'thoughtheywereoccurringbehindthescreen,asifthescreenweretransparentlikeapaneofglass.Atthesametime,however,thecolourwouldberemovedfromtheseeventsandonlywhite,greyandblackwouldcomethrough.Butwearestillnottemptedtocallitatransparent,whitepaneofglass.
How,then,wouldweseethingsthroughapaneofgreenglass?Onedifferencewould,ofcourse,bethatthegreenglasswoulddiminishthedifferencebetweenlightanddark,whiletheotheroneshouldn'thaveanyeffectuponthisdifference.Thena'greytransparent'panewouldsomewhatdiminishit.
Page42
185.Wemightsayofapaneofgreenglassthatitgavethingsitscolour.Butdoesmy'white'panedothat?--Ifthegreenmediumgivesitscolourtothings,then,aboveall,towhitethings.
Page42
186.Athinlayerofacolouredmediumcoloursthingsonlyweakly:howshouldathin'white'glasscolourthem?
Shallwesupposethatitdoesn'tquiteremovealltheircolour?
PageBreak43
Page43
187."Weshouldn'tbeabletoconceiveofwhitewaterthatispure..."Thatistosay:wecannotdescribehowsomethingwhitecouldlookclear,andthatmeans:wedon'tknowwhatdescriptionisbeingaskedforwiththesewords.
Page43
188.Wedonotwanttofindatheoryofcolour(neitheraphysiologicalnorapsychologicalone),butratherthelogicofcolourconcepts.Andthisaccomplishesthatwhichpeoplehaveoftenunjustlyexpectedfromatheory.
Page43
189.Explainingcolourwordsbypointingtocolouredpiecesofpaperdoesnottouchtheconceptoftransparency.Itisthisconceptthatstandsinunlikerelationstothevariouscolourconcepts.
Page43
190.Thus,ifsomeonewantedtosaywedon'tevennoticethattheconceptsofthedifferentcoloursaresodifferent,wewouldhavetoanswerthathehadsimplypaidattentiontotheanalogy(thelikeness)betweentheseconcepts,whilethedifferenceslieintherelationstootherconcepts.[Abetterremarkonthis.]
Page43
191.Ifapaneofgreenglassgivesthethingsbehinditagreencolour,itturnswhitetogreen,redtoblack,yellowtogreenishyellow,bluetogreenishblue.Thewhitepaneshould,therefore,makeeverythingwhitish,i.e.itshouldmakeeverythingpale;and,thenwhyshouldn'titturnblacktogrey?-Evenayellowglassmakesthingsdarker,shouldawhiteglassmakethingsdarkertoo?
Page43
192.Everycolouredmediummakesthethingsseenthroughitdarkerinthatitswallowsuplight:Nowismywhiteglasssupposedtomakethingsdarkertoo,andmoresothethickeritis?Butitoughttoleavewhitewhite:Sothe
'whiteglass'wouldreallybeadarkglass.
Page43
193.Ifgreenbecomeswhitishthroughit,whydoesn'tgreybecomemorewhitish,andwhydoesn'tblackthenbecomegrey?
Page43
194.Colouredglassmustn'tmakethethingsbehinditlighter:sowhatshouldhappeninthecaseof,e.g.somethinggreen?ShouldIseeitasagrey-green?1thenhowshouldsomethinggreenbeseenthroughit?whitish-green?1
PageBreak44
Page44
195.Ifallthecoloursbecamewhitishthepicturewouldlosemoreandmoredepth.
Page44
196.Greyisnotpoorlyilluminatedwhite,darkgreenisnotpoorlyilluminatedlightgreen.
Itistruethatwesay"Atnightallcatsaregrey",butthatreallymeans:wecan'tdistinguishwhatcolourtheyareandtheycouldbegrey.
Page44
197.Whatconstitutesthedecisivedifferencebetweenwhiteandtheothercolours?Doesitlieintheasymmetryoftherelationships?Andthatisreallytosay,inthespecialpositionithasinthecolouroctohedron?Orisitrathertheunlikepositionofthecoloursvis--visdarkandlight?
Page44
198.Whatshouldthepainterpaintifhewantstocreatetheeffectofawhite,transparentglass?
Shouldredandgreen(etc.)becomewhitish?
Page44
199.Isn'tthedifferencesimplythateverycolouredglassshouldimpartcolourtothewhite,whilemyglassmusteitherleaveitunchangedorsimplymakeitdarker?
Page44
200.Whiteseenthroughacolouredglassappearswiththecolouroftheglass.Thatisaruleoftheappearanceoftransparency.Sowhiteappearswhitethroughwhiteglass,i.e.asthroughuncolouredglass.
Page44
201.Lichtenbergspeaksof'purewhite'andmeansbythatthelightestofcolours.Noonecouldsaythatofpureyellow.
Page44
202.Itisoddtosaywhiteissolid,becauseofcourseyellowandredcanbethecoloursofsurfacestoo,andassuch,wedonotcategorially[[sic]]
differentiatethemfromwhite.
Page44
203.Ifwehaveawhitecubewithdifferentstrengthsofilluminationonitssurfacesandlookatitthroughayellowglass,itnowlooksyellowanditssurfacesstillappeardifferentlyilluminated.Howwoulditlookthroughwhiteglass?Andhowwouldayellowcubelookthroughwhiteglass?
Page44
204.Woulditbeasifwehadmixedwhiteorasifwehadmixedgreywithitscolours?
PageBreak45
Page45
205.Wouldn'titbepossibleforaglasstoleavewhite,blackandgreyunchangedandmaketherestofthecolourswhitish?Andwouldn'tthiscomeclosetobeingawhiteandtransparentglass?Theeffectwouldthenbelikeaphotographwhichstillretainedatraceofthenaturalcolours.Thedegreeofdarknessofeachcolourwouldthenhavetobepreserved,andcertainlynotdiminished.
Page45
206.ThismuchIcanunderstand:thataphysicaltheory(suchasNewton's)cannotsolvetheproblemsthatmotivatedGoethe,evenifhehimselfdidn'tsolvethemeither.
Page45
207.IfIlookatpureredthroughglassanditlooksgrey,hastheglass
actuallygiventhecolouragreycontent?I.e.:ordoesitonlyappearso?
Page45
208.WhydoIfeelthatawhiteglassmustcolourblackifitcoloursanything,whileIcanacceptthefactthatyellowisswallowedupbyblack?Isn'titbecauseclearcolouredglassmustcolourwhiteaboveall,andifitdoesn'tdothatandiswhite,thenitiscloudy.
Page45
209.Ifyoulookatalandscapeandscrewupyoureyes,thecoloursbecomelessclearandeverythingbeginstotakeonthecharacterofblackandwhite;butdoesitseemtomehereasifIsawitthroughapaneofthisorthatcolouredglass?
Page45
210.Weoftenspeakofwhiteasnotcoloured.Why?(Weevendoitwhenwearenotthinkingabouttransparency.)Page45
211.Anditisstrangethatwhitesometimesappearsonanequalfootingwiththeotherpurecolours(asinflags),andthenagainsometimesitdoesn't.
Why,forexample,dowesaythatwhitishgreenorredis"notsaturated"?Whydoeswhite,butnotyellow,makethesecoloursweaker?Isthatamatterofthepsychology(theeffect)ofcolours,oroftheirlogic?Well,thefactthatweusecertainwordssuchas"saturated","muddy",etc.isapsychologicalmatter;butthatwemakeasharpdistinctionatall,indicatesthatitisaconceptualmatter.
Page45
212.Isthatconnectedwiththefactthatwhitegraduallyeliminatesall
contrasts,whilereddoesn't?
PageBreak46
Page46
213.Oneandthesamemusicalthemehasadifferentcharacterintheminorthaninthemajor,butitiscompletelywrongtospeakofthecharacteroftheminormodeingeneral.(InSchubertthemajoroftensoundsmoresorrowfulthantheminor.)
AndinthiswayIthinkthatitisworthlessandofnousewhatsoeverfortheunderstandingofpaintingtospeakofthecharacteristicsoftheindividualcolours.Whenwedoit,wearereallyonlythinkingofspecialuses.Thatgreenasthecolourofatableclothhasthis,redthateffect,doesnotallowustodrawanyconclusionsastotheireffectinapicture.
Page46
214.Whitecancelsoutallcolours,--doesreddothistoo?
Page46
215.Whyistherenobrownnorgreylight?Istherenowhitelighteither?Aluminousbodycanappearwhitebutneitherbrownnorgrey.
Page46
216.Whycan'tweimagineagrey-hot?
Whycan'twethinkofitasalesserdegreeofwhite-hot?
Page46
217.Thatsomethingwhichseemsluminouscannotalsoappeargreymust
beanindicationthatsomethingluminousandcolourlessisalwayscalled"white";thisteachesussomethingaboutourconceptofwhite.
Page46
218.Aweakwhitelightisnotagreylight.
Page46
219.Buttheskywhichillumineseverythingthatweseecanbegrey!AndhowdoIknowmerelybyitsappearancethatitisn'titselfluminous?
Page46
220.Thatistosayroughly:somethingis'grey'or'white'onlyinaparticularsurrounding.
Page46
221.IamnotsayingherewhattheGestaltpsychologistssay:thattheimpressionofwhitecomesaboutinsuchandsuchaway.Ratherthequestionisprecisely:whatistheimpressionofwhite,whatisthemeaningofthisexpression,whatisthelogicofthisconcept'white'?
Page46
222.Forthefactthatwecannotconceiveofsomething'grey-hot'doesnotpertaintothepsychologyofcolours.
PageBreak47
Page47
223.Imagineweweretoldthatasubstanceburnswithagreyflame.Youdon'tknowthecoloursoftheflamesofallsubstances:sowhyshouldn't
thatbepossible?Andyetitwouldmeannothing.IfIheardsuchathing,Iwouldonlythinkthattheflamewasweaklyluminous.
Page47
224.Whateverlooksluminousdoesnotlookgrey.Everythinggreylooksasthoughitisbeingillumined.
Thatsomethingcan'appearluminous'iscausedbythedistributionoflightnessinwhatisseen,butthereisalsosuchathingas'seeingsomethingasluminous';undercertaincircumstancesonecantakereflectedlighttobethelightfromaluminousbody.
Page47
225.Icould,then,seesomethingnowasweaklyluminous,nowasgrey.
Page47
226.Whatweseeasluminouswedon'tseeasgrey.Butwecancertainlyseeitaswhite.
Page47
227.Wespeakofa'darkredlight',butnotofa'black-redlight'.
Page47
228.Thereissuchathingastheimpressionofluminosity.
Page47
229.Itisnotthesamethingtosay:theimpressionofwhiteorgreycomesaboutundersuchandsuchconditions(causally),andtosaythatitistheimpressionofacertaincontext(definition).(ThefirstisGestalt
psychology,thesecondlogic.)
Page47
230.The"primaryphenomenon"(Urphnomen)is,e.g.,whatFreudthoughtherecognizedinsimplewish-fulfilmentdreams.Theprimaryphenomenonisapreconceivedideathattakespossessionofus.
Page47
231.Ifaghostappearedtomeduringthenight,itcouldglowwithaweakwhitishlight;butifitlookedgrey,thenthelightwouldhavetoappearasthoughitcamefromsomewhereelse.
Page47
232.Whenpsychologyspeaksofappearance,itconnectsitwithreality.Butwecanspeakofappearancealone,orweconnectappearancewithappearance.
PageBreak48
Page48
233.Wemightsay,thecolouroftheghostisthatwhichImustmixonthepaletteinordertopaintitaccurately.
Page48
Buthowdowedeterminewhattheaccuratepictureis?
Page48
234.Psychologyconnectswhatisexperiencedwithsomethingphysical,butweconnectwhatisexperiencedwithwhatisexperienced.
Page48
235.Wecouldpaintsemi-darknessinsemi-darkness.Andthe'rightlighting'ofapicturecouldbesemi-darkness.
(Stagescene-painting.)
Page48
236.Asmoothwhitesurfacecanreflectthings:Butwhat,then,ifwemadeamistakeandthatwhichappearedtobereflectedinsuchasurfacewerereallybehinditandseenthroughit?Wouldthesurfacethenbewhiteandtransparent?Eventhenwhatwesawwouldnotcorrespondtosomething,colouredandtransparent.
Page48
237.Wespeakofa'blackmirror'.Butwhenitmirrors,itdarkens,ofcourse,butitdoesn'tlookblack,anditsblackdoesn't'smirch'.
Page48
238.Whyisgreendrownedintheblack,whilewhiteisn't?
Page48
239.Therearecolourconceptsthatonlyrefertothevisualappearanceofasurface,andtheremightbesuchasreferonlytotheappearanceoftransparentmedia,orrathertothevisualimpressionofsuchmedia.Wemightwantnottocallawhitehigh-lightonsilver,say,"white",anddifferentiateitfromthewhitecolourofasurface.Ibelievethisiswherethetalkof"transparent"lightcomesfrom.
Page48
240.Ifwetaughtachildthecolourconceptsbypointingtocolouredflames,orcolouredtransparentbodies,thepeculiarityofwhite,greyandblackwouldshowupmoreclearly.
Page48
241.Itiseasytoseethatnotallcolourconceptsarelogicallyofthesamekind.Itiseasytoseethedifferencebetweentheconcepts:'thecolourofgold'or'thecolourofsilver'and'yellow'or'grey'.
Butitishardtoseethatthereisasomewhatrelateddifferencebetween'white'and'red'.
PageBreak49
Page49
242.Milkisnotopaquebecauseitiswhite,--asifwhiteweresomethingopaque.
If'white'isaconceptwhichonlyreferstoavisualsurface,whyisn'tthereacolourconceptrelatedto'white'
thatreferstotransparentthings?
Page49
243.Wewouldn'twanttocallamediumwhite-coloured,ifablackandwhitepattern(chessboard)appearedunchangedwhenseenthroughit,evenifthismediumchangedothercoloursintowhitishones.
Page49
244.Greyoraweaklyilluminedorluminouswhitecaninonesensebethesamecolour,forifIpaintthelatterImayhavetomixtheformeron
thepalette.
Page49
245.WhetherIseesomethingasgreyoraswhitecandependuponhowIseethethingsaroundmeillumined.Tomeinonecontextthecolouriswhiteinpoorlight,inanotheritisgreyingoodlight.
Page49
246.ThebucketwhichIseeinfrontofmeisglazedgleamingwhite;Icouldn'tpossiblycallitgreyorsay"Ireallyseegrey".Butithasahighlightthatisfarlighterthantherestofitssurface,andbecauseitisroundthereisagradualtransitionfromlighttoshadow,yetwithoutthereseemingtobeachangeofcolour.
Page49
247.Whatcolouristhebucketatthisspot?HowshouldIdecidethisquestion?
Page49
248.Thereisindeednosuchthingasphenomenology,buttherearephenomenologicalproblems.
Page49
249.Wewouldliketosay:whenyoumixinredyoudonotthindownthecolours,whenyoumixinwhiteyoudo.
Ontheotherhand,wedon'talwaysperceivepinkorawhitishblueasthinneddown.
Page49
250.Canwesay:"Luminousgreyiswhite"?
Page49
251.Thedifficultieswhichweencounterwhenwereflectaboutthenatureofcolours(thosedifficultieswhichGoethewantedtodealwiththroughhistheoryofcolour)arecontainedinthefactthatwehavenotonebutseveralrelatedconceptsofthesamenessofcolours.
PageBreak50
Page50
252.Thequestionis:Whatmustthevisualimagebelikeifweoughttocallitthatofacoloured,transparentmedium?Oragain:Howmustsomethinglookforittoappeartousascolouredandtransparent?Thisisnotaquestionofphysics,butitisconnectedwithphysicalquestions.
Page50
253.Whatisthenatureofavisualimagethatwewouldcalltheimageofacolouredtransparentmedium?
Page50
254.Thereseemtobewhatwecancall"coloursofsubstances"and"coloursofsurfaces".
Page50
255.Ourcolourconceptssometimesrelatetosubstances(Snowiswhite),sometimestosurfaces(thistableisbrown),sometimestotheillumination(inthereddisheveninglight),sometimestotransparentbodies.Andisn'ttherealsoanapplicationtoaplaceinthevisualfield,logicallyindependentofaspatialcontext?
Can'tIsay"thereIseewhite"(andpaintit,forexample)evenifIcan'tinanywaygiveathree-dimensionalinterpretationofthevisualimage?(Spotsofcolour.)(Iamthinkingofpointillistpainting.)Page50
256.Tobeablegenerallytonameacolour,isnotthesameasbeingabletocopyitexactly.Icanperhapssay"ThereIseeareddishplace"andyetIcan'tmixacolourthatIrecognizeasbeingexactlythesame.
Page50
257.Try,forexample,topaintwhatyouseewhenyoucloseyoureyes!Andyetyoucanroughlydescribeit.
Page50
258.Thinkofthecoloursofpolishedsilver,nickel,chrome,etc.orofthecolourofascratchinthesemetals.
Page50
259.Igiveacolourthename"F"andIsayitisthecolourthatIseethere.OrperhapsIpaintmyvisualimageandthensimplysay"Iseethis".Now,whatcolourisatthisspotinmyimage?HowdoIdetermineit?Iintroduce,say,theword"cobaltblue":HowdoIfixwhat'C'is?Icouldtakeastheparadigmofthiscolourapaperorthedyeinapot.
HowdoInowdeterminethatasurface(forexample)hasthiscolour?Everythingdependsonthemethodofcomparison.
PageBreak51
Page51
260.Whatwecancallthe"coloured"overallimpressionofasurfaceisbynomeansakindofarithmeticalmeanofallthecoloursofthesurface.
Page51
261.
[
"Isee(hear,feel,etc.)X"
"IamobservingX"
Xdoesnotstandforthesameconceptthefirsttimeandthesecond,evenifthesameexpression,e.g."apain",isusedbothtimes.Forthequestion"whatkindofapain?"couldfollowthefirstpropositionandonecouldanswerthisbystickingthequestionerwithaneedle.Butifthequestion"whatkindofapain?"followsthesecondproposition,theanswermustbeofadifferentsort,e.g."Thepaininmyhand.")Page51
262.Iwouldliketosay"thiscolourisatthisspotinmyvisualfield(completelyapartfromanyinterpretation)".ButwhatwouldIusethissentencefor?"This"colourmust(ofcourse)beonethatIcanreproduce.AnditmustbedeterminedunderwhatcircumstancesIsaysomethingisthiscolour.
Page51
263.ImaginesomeonepointingtoaspotintheirisinafacebyRembrandtandsaying"thewallinmyroomshouldbepaintedthiscolour."
Page51
264.Thefactthatwecansay"Thisspotinmyvisualfieldisgrey-green"doesnotmeanthatweknowwhattocallanexactreproductionofthisshadeofcolour.
Page51
265.Ipainttheviewfrommywindow;oneparticularspot,determinedbyitspositioninthearchitectureofahouse,Ipaintochre.Isay"Iseethisspotinthiscolour."
ThatdoesnotmeanthatIseethecolourochreatthisspot,forthepigmentmayappearmuchlighterordarkerormorereddish(etc.)thanochre,inthesesurroundings.
Icanperhapssay"IseethisspotthewayIhavepaintedithere(withochre);butithasastronglyreddishlooktome."
Butwhatifsomeoneaskedmetogivetheexactshadeofcolourthatappearstomehere?HowshouldIdescribeitandhowshouldIdetermineit?Someonecouldaskme,forexample,toproduceacoloursample,arectangularpieceofpaperofthiscolour.Idon'tsay
PageBreak52
thatsuchacomparisonisutterlyuninteresting,butitshowsthatitisn'tfromtheoutsetclearhowshadesofcolouraretobecompared,andtherefore,what"samenessofcolour"meanshere.
Page52
266.Imagineapaintingbeingcutupintosmallalmostmonochromaticbitswhicharethenusedaspiecesinapuzzle.Evenwhensuchapieceisnotmonochromatic,itshouldnotindicateanythree-dimensionalshape,butshouldappearasaflatcolour-patch.Onlytogetherwiththeotherpiecesdoesitbecomeabitofsky,ashadow,ahigh-light,aconcaveorconvexsurface,etc..
Page52
267.Thuswemightsaythatthispuzzleshowsustheactualcoloursofthevariousspotsinthepicture.
Page52
268.Onemightbeinclinedtobelievethatananalysisofourcolourconceptswouldleadultimatelytothecoloursofplacesinourvisualfield,whichwouldbeindependentofanyspatialorphysicalinterpretation,forheretherewouldbeneitherilluminationnorshadownorhigh-light,nortransparencynoropaqueness,etc..
Page52
269.Somethingwhichappearstousasalightmonochromaticlinewithoutbreadthonadarkbackgroundcanlookwhitebutnotgrey(?).Aplanetcouldn'tlooklightgrey.
Page52
270.Butwouldn'tweinterpretthepointorthelineasgreyundercertaincircumstances?(Thinkofaphotograph.)Page52
271.DoIactuallyseetheboy'shairblondinthephotograph?!--DoIseeitgrey?
DoIonlyinferthatwhateverlooksthiswayinthepicture,mustinreali
Top Related