Abstract
In this article, we explore Wittgenstein’s theory of the logical form of our concepts and statements of colour, starting with his solution to the so-called “colour exclusion problem” by reference to the notions of “system of propositions ” and “scale”, but extending it to account for similar phenomena that have sometimes been considered empirical, but Wittgenstein takes to be logical, such as the comparison among colours in terms of lightness, saturation or hue, the questions of which colours are primary, and whether it is possible to perceive a colour no one else has ever perceived. Furthermore, we will try to show how Wittgenstein’s remarks on colour are best understood as illustrating general philosophical ideas on logical structure that have deep repercussions beyond the limited domain of colour.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Barwise, Jon, and Jerry Seligman. 1997. Information Flow: The Logic of Distributed Systems. Cambridge University Press.
Hume, D. 1978 (1739). A Treatise of Human Nature, Being An Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral Subjects, 2nd ed., ed. L.A. Selby-Bigge. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Jackson, F. 1982. Epiphenomenal Qualia. Philosophical Quarterly 32: 127–136.
Jameson, K.A. 2009. Tetrachromatic color vision. The Oxford Companion to Consciousness, ed. P. Wilken, T. Bayne, and A. Cleeremans, 155–158. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Judd and Wyszecki. 1963. Colour in Business, Science and Industry, 2nd ed. New York: Wiley.
Kuipers, Theo. 2000. From Instrumentalism to Constructive Realism. Drodrecht: Kluwer.
Millikan, Ruth. 2000. On Clear and Confused Ideas: An Essay About Substance Concepts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Moure, T. 1994. La teoría de prototipos y su aplicación en gramática (I y II). Contextos 23–24, 167–219.
Prior, Arthur N. 1949. Determinables, Determinates, and Determinants. Mind 63, Part I, 1–20, Part II, 178–194.
Searle, John. 2006. Determinables and Determinates. In ed. Paul Edwards, The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, vol. 2, 357–359. New York: Macmillan, Reprinted in ed. Donald M. Borchert, The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd ed., vol. 3, 1–3. Detroit: Macmillan Reference, with an addendum by Troy Cross, 3–4.
Thompson, Palacios and Varela. 1992. Ways of Coloring: Comparative Color Vision as a Case Study for Cognitive Science. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 15: 1–74.
Thompson, Evan. 1995. Colour Vision. Abingdon: Routledge.
Wittgenstein, L. 1929. Remarks on Logical Form. In Philosophical Occasions 1912–1951, ed. J. Klagge, and A. Nordmann, 29–35. Indiana: Hackett, 1993.
Wittgenstein, L. 1961. Tractatus Logico-philosophicus, trans. D.F. Pears and B.F. McGuiness.
Wittgenstein, L. 1974. Philosophical Grammar, ed. R. Rhees, trans. A. Kenny. Oxford: Blackwell.
Wittgenstein, L. 1975. Philosophical Remarks. In ed. R. Rhees, Posthumous Writings, trans. R. Hargreaves and R. White. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. @ 1991, Wiley-Blackwell.
Wittgenstein, L. 1977. Remarks on Colour, ed. G.E.M. Anscombe, trans. L.L. McAlister, and M. Schättle. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
A. Barceló, A., Saab, S. (2017). The Grammar of Colours Advanced in Wittgenstein’s Middle Period. In: Silva, M. (eds) Colours in the development of Wittgenstein’s Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56919-2_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56919-2_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56918-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56919-2
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)