Ecological color

Journal/Book: Philos Psychol. 1999; 12: PO Box 25, Abingdon Ox14 3Ue, Oxfordshire, England. Carfax Publ Co. 197-214.

Abstract: In his 1995 book Colour vision (New York: Routledge), Evan Thompson proposes a new approach to the ontology of color according to which it is tied to the ecological dispositions-affordances-described by F.F. Gibson and his followers. Thompson claims that a relational account of color is necessary in order to avoid the problems that go along with the dispute between subjectivists and objectivists about color, but he claims that the received view of perception does not allow a satisfactory relational account of color. Hence to avoid the problems of the subjectivist/objectivist dispute one must abandon the received view of perception. I describe an account which is similar to Thompson's, but which invokes instead the physical dispositional properties described by the received view. All of the distinguishing characteristics that Thompson claims separate his ecological dispositions from physical dispositions are in fact found in the physical dispositions appealed to by my proposed theory. Because my proposed theory is similar to subjectivism, Thompson's departure from the received view is not as radical as he claims. In a final section I describe the a posteriori manner in which a substantive departure from the received view must be carried out by describing an example of ecological experimentation.

Note: Article Whitmyer VG, Univ Connecticut, Dept Philosophy, Storrs,CT 06269 USA

Keyword(s): VISUAL-PERCEPTION; AFFORDANCES; BODY

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