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LudwigWittgenstein:

REMARKSONCOLOUR

Editedby

G.E.M.ANSCOMBE

Translatedby

LindaL.McAlisterand

MargareteSchttle

BASILBLACKWELL

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EDITOR'SPREFACE

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PartIIIofthisvolumereproducesmostofaMSbookwritteninoxfordintheSpringof1950.Ihaveleftoutmaterialon"inner-outer",remarksaboutShakespeareandsomegeneralobservationsaboutlife;allthisbothwasmarkedasdiscontinuouswiththetextandalsowillappearelsewhere.PartIwaswritteninCambridgeinMarch1951:itisaselectionandrevisionoftheearliermaterial,withfewadditions.ItisnotclearwhetherPartIIante-orpost-datesPartIII.Itwaspartofwhatwaswrittenonundatedloosesheetsoffoolscap,therestbeingdevotedto

certainty.

WittgensteinlefttheseinhisroominmyhouseinOxfordwhenhewenttoDr.Bevan'shouseinCambridgeinFebruary1951,intheexpectationofdyingthere.Hisliteraryexecutorsdecidedthatthewholeofthismaterialmightwellbepublished,asitgivesaclearsampleoffirst-draftwritingandsubsequentselection.Muchofwhatwasnotselectedisofgreatinterest,andthismethodofpublicationinvolvestheleastpossibleeditorialintervention.

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IntheworkofdeterminingthetextIwasmuchhelpedbyG.H.vonWright'scarefultypescriptofit,andalsobyanindependenttypescriptmadebyLindaMcAlisterandMargareteSchttleWehavetothankthemalsofortheirtranslation.This,withagreedrevisionsbytheeditor,ispublishedhere.

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IshouldalsoliketothankDr.L.LabowskyforreadingthroughtheGermantext.

G.E.M.Anscombe

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I

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1.Alanguage-game:Reportwhetheracertainbodyislighterordarkerthananother.--Butnowthere'sarelatedone:Statetherelationshipbetweenthelightnessofcertainshadesofcolour.(Comparewiththis:Determiningtherelationshipbetweenthelengthsoftwosticks--andthe

relationshipbetweentwonumbers.)--Theformofthepropositionsinbothlanguage-gamesisthesame:"XislighterthanY".Butinthefirstitisanexternalrelationandthepropositionistemporal,intheseconditisaninternalrelationandthepropositionistimeless.

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2.Inapictureinwhichapieceofwhitepapergetsitslightnessfromthebluesky,theskyislighterthanthewhitepaper.Andyetinanothersenseblueisthedarkerandwhitethelightercolour.(Goethe).Onthepalettewhiteisthelightestcolour.

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3.Lichtenbergsaysthatveryfewpeoplehaveeverseenpurewhite.Sodomostpeopleusethewordwrong,then?

Andhowdidhelearnthecorrectuse?--Heconstructedanidealusefromtheordinaryone.Andthatisnottosayabetterone,butonethathasbeenrefinedalongcertainlinesandintheprocesssomethinghasbeencarriedtoextremes.

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4.Andofcoursesuchaconstructmayinturnteachussomethingaboutthewayweinfactusetheword.

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5.IfIsayapieceofpaperispurewhite,andifsnowwereplacednexttoitanditthenappearedgrey,initsnormalsurroundingsIwouldstillberightincallingitwhiteandnotlightgrey.ItcouldbethatIuseamorerefinedconceptofwhitein,say,alaboratory(where,forexample,Ialsouseamorerefinedconceptofprecisedeterminationoftime).

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6.Whatisthereinfavorofsayingthatgreenisaprimarycolour,notablendofblueandyellow?Woulditberighttosay:"Youcanonlyknowitdirectlybylookingatthecolours"?ButhowdoIknowthatImeanthesamebythewords"primarycolours"assomeother

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personwhoisalsoinclinedtocallgreenaprimarycolour?No,--herelanguage-gamesdecide.

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7.Someoneisgivenacertainyellow-green(orblue-green)andtoldtomixalessyellowish(orbluish)one--ortopickitoutfromanumberofcoloursamples.Alessyellowishgreen,however,isnotabluishone(andviceversa),andthereisalsosuchataskaschoosing,ormixingagreenthatisneitheryellowishnorbluish.Isay"ormixing"

becauseagreendoesnotbecomebothbluish"andyellowishbecauseitisproducedbyakindofmixtureofyellowandblue.

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8.Peoplemighthavetheconceptofintermediarycoloursormixedcolourseveniftheyneverproducedcoloursbymixing(inwhateversense).Theirlanguage-gamesmightonlyhavetodowithlookingfororselectingalreadyexistingintermediaryorblendedcolours.

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9.Evenifgreenisnotanintermediarycolourbetweenyellowandblue,couldn'ttherebepeopleforwhomthereisbluish-yellow,reddish-green?I.e.peoplewhosecolourconceptsdeviatefromours--because,afterall;

thecolourconceptsofcolour-blindpeopletoodeviatefromthoseofnormalpeople,andnoteverydeviationfromthenormmustbeablindness,adefect.

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10.Someonewhohaslearnttofindortomixashadeofcolourthatismoreyellowish,morewhitishormorereddish,etc.,thanagivenshadeofcolour,i.e.whoknowstheconceptofintermediarycolours,is(now)askedtoshowusareddish-green.Hemaysimplynotunderstandthisorderandperhapsreactasthoughhehadfirstbeenaskedtopointoutregularfour-,five-,andsix-angledplanefigures,andthenwereaskedtopointoutaregularone-angledplanefigure.Butwhatifheunhesitatinglypointedtoacoloursample(say,toonethatwewouldcallablackishbrown)?

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11.Someonewhoisfamiliarwithreddish-greenshouldbeinapositiontoproduceacolourserieswhichstartswithredandendswithgreenandwhichperhapsevenforusconstitutesacontinuousPageBreak4

transitionbetweenthetwo.Wewouldthendiscoverthatatthepointwherewealwaysseethesameshade,e.g.ofbrown,thispersonsometimesseesbrownandsometimesreddish-green.Itmaybe,forexample,thathecandifferentiatebetweenthecoloursoftwochemicalcompoundsthatseemtoustobethesamecolourandhecallsonebrownandtheotherreddish-green.

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12.Imaginethatallmankind,withrareexceptions,werered-greencolour-blind.Oranothercase:everyonewaseitherred-greenorblue-yellowcolour-blind.

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13.Imagineatribeofcolour-blindpeople,andtherecouldeasilybeone.Theywouldnothavethesamecolourconceptsaswedo.Forevenassumingtheyspeak,e.g.English,andthushavealltheEnglishcolourwords,theywouldstillusethemdifferentlythanwedoandwouldlearntheirusedifferently.

Oriftheyhaveaforeignlanguage,itwouldbedifficultforustotranslatetheircolourwordsintoours.

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14.Buteveniftherewerealsopeopleforwhomitwasnaturaltousetheexpressions"reddish-green"or

"yellowish-blue"inaconsistentmannerandwhoperhapsalsoexhibitabilitieswhichwelack,wewouldstillnotbeforcedtorecognizethattheyseecolourswhichwedonotsee.Thereis,afterall,nocommonlyacceptedcriterionforwhatisacolour,unlessitisoneofourcolours.

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15.Ineveryseriousphilosophicalquestionuncertaintyextendstotheveryrootsoftheproblem.

Wemustalwaysbepreparedtolearnsomethingtotallynew.

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16.Thedescriptionofthephenomenaofcolour-blindnessispartofpsychology:andthereforethedescriptionofthephenomenaofnormalvision,too?Psychologyonlydescribesthedeviationsofcolour-blindnessfromnormalvision.

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17.Rungesays(intheletterthatGoethereproducedinhisTheoryofColours),therearetransparentandopaquecolours.Whiteisanopaquecolour.

Thisshowstheindeterminatenessintheconceptofcolouroragaininthatofsamenessofcolour.

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18.Canatransparentgreenglasshavethesamecolourasapieceofopaquepaperornot?Ifsuchaglassweredepictedinapainting,thecolourswouldnotbetransparentonthepalette.Ifwewantedtosaythecolouroftheglasswasalsotransparentinthepainting,wewouldhavetocallthecomplexofcolourpatcheswhichdepicttheglassitscolour.

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19.Whyisitthatsomethingcanbetransparentgreenbutnottransparentwhite?

Transparencyandreflectionsexistonlyinthedimensionofdepthofavisualimage.

Theimpressionthatthetransparentmediummakesisthatsomethingliesbehindthemedium.Ifthevisualimageisthoroughlymonochromaticitcannotbetransparent.

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20.Somethingwhitebehindacolouredtransparentmediumappearsinthecolourofthemedium,somethingblackappearsblack.Accordingto

thisrule,blackonawhitebackgroundwouldhavetobeseenthrougha'white,transparent'mediumasthroughacolourlessone.

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21.Runge:"Ifweweretothinkofabluish-orange,areddish-green,orayellowish-violet,wewouldhavethesamefeelingasinthecaseofasouthwesterlynorthwind....BothwhiteandBlackareopaqueorsolid....Whitewaterwhichispureisasinconceivableasclearmilk."

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22.Wedonotwanttoestablishatheoryofcolour(neitheraphysiologicalonenorapsychologicalone),butratherthelogicofcolourconcepts.Andthisaccomplisheswhatpeoplehaveoftenunjustlyexpectedofatheory.

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23."Whitewaterisinconceivable,etc."Thatmeanswecannotdescribe(e.g.paint),howsomethingwhiteandclearwouldlook,andthatmeans:wedon'tknowwhatdescription,portrayal,thesewordsdemandofus.

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24.Itisnotimmediatelyclearwhattransparentglassweshouldsayhasthesamecolourasanopaquecoloursample.IfIsay,"Iamlookingforglassofthiscolour"(pointingtoapieceofcolouredPageBreak6

paper),thatwouldmeanroughlythatsomethingwhiteseenthroughtheglassshouldlooklikemysample.

Ifthesampleispink,sky-blueorlilac,wewillimaginetheglasscloudy,butperhapstooasclearandonlyslightlyreddish,bluishorviolet.

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25.Inthecinemawecansometimesseetheeventsinthefilmasiftheylaybehindthescreenanditweretransparent,ratherlikeapaneofglass.Theglasswouldbetakingthecolourawayfromthingsandallowingonlywhite,greyandblacktocomethrough.(Herewearenotdoingphysics,weareregardingwhiteandblackascoloursjustlikegreenandred).--Wemightthusthinkthatwearehereimaginingapaneofglassthatcouldbecalledwhiteandtransparent.Andyetwearenottemptedtocallitthat:sodoestheanalogywith,e.g.atransparentgreenpanebreakdownsomewhere?

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26.Wewouldsay,perhaps,ofagreenpane:itcoloursthethingsbehinditgreen,aboveallthewhitebehindit.

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27.Whendealingwithlogic,"Onecannotimaginethat"means:onedoesn'tknowwhatoneshouldimaginehere.

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28.Wouldwesaythatmyfictitiousglasspaneinthecinemagavethethingsbehinditawhitecolouring?

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29.Fromtherulefortheappearanceoftransparentcolouredthingsthatyouhaveextractedfromtransparentgreen,red,etc.,ascertaintheappearanceoftransparentwhite!Whydoesn'tthiswork?

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30.Everycolouredmediumdarkensthatwhichisseenthroughit,itswallowslight:nowismywhiteglassalsosupposedtodarken?Andthemoresothethickeritis?Soitwouldreallybeadarkglass!

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31.Whycan'tweimaginetransparent-whiteglass,--evenifthereisn'tanyinactuality?Wheredoestheanalogywithtransparentcolouredglassgowrong?

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32.Sentencesareoftenusedontheborderlinebetweenlogicandtheempirical,sothattheirmeaningchangesbackandforthand

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theycountnowasexpressionsofnorms,nowasexpressionsofexperience.

(Foritiscertainlynotanaccompanyingmentalphenomenon--thisishowweimagine'thoughts'--buttheuse,whichdistinguishesthelogicalpropositionfromtheempiricalone.)Page7

33.Wespeakofthe'colourofgold'anddonotmeanyellow."Gold-coloured"isthepropertyofasurfacethatshinesorglitters.

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34.Thereistheglowofred-hotandofwhite-hot:butwhatwouldbrown-hotandgrey-hotlooklike?Whycan'tweconceiveoftheseasalowerdegreeofwhite-hot?

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35."Lightiscolourless".Ifso,theninthesenseinwhichnumbersarecolourless.

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36.Whateverlooksluminousdoesnotlookgrey.Everythinggreylooksasthoughitisbeingilluminated.

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37.Whatweseeasluminouswedonotseeasgrey.Butwecancertainlyseeitaswhite.

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38.Icould,then,seesomethingnowasweaklyluminous,nowasgrey.

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39.Iamnotsayinghere(astheGestaltpsychologistsdo),thattheimpressionofwhitecomesaboutinsuch-and-suchaway.Ratherthequestionisprecisely:whatisthemeaningofthisexpression,whatisthelogicofthisconcept?

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40.Forthefactthatwecannotconceiveofsomething'glowinggrey'belongsneithertothephysicsnortothepsychologyofcolour.

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41.Iamtoldthatasubstanceburnswithagreyflame.Idon'tknowthecoloursoftheflamesofallsubstances;sowhyshouldn'tthatbepossible?

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42.Wespeakofa'darkredlight'butnotofa'black-redlight'.

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43.Asmoothwhitesurfacecanreflectthings:Butwhat,then,ifwemadeamistakeandthatwhichappearedtobereflectedinsuchasurfacewerereallybehinditandseenthroughit?Wouldthesurfacethenbewhiteandtransparent?

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44.Wespeakofa'black'mirror.Butwhereitmirrors,itdarkens,ofcourse,butitdoesn'tlookblack,andthatwhichisseeninitdoesnotappear'dirty'but'deep'.

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45.Opaquenessisnotapropertyofthewhitecolour.Anymorethantransparencyisapropertyofthegreen.

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46.Anditdoesnotsufficetosay,theword"white"isusedonlyfortheappearanceofsurfaces.Itcouldbethatwehadtwowordsfor"green":oneforgreensurfaces,theotherforgreentransparentobjects.Thequestionwouldremainwhythereexistednocolourwordcorrespondingtotheword"white"forsomethingtransparent.

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47.Wewouldn'twanttocallamediumwhiteifablackandwhitepattern(chessboard)appearedunchangedwhenseenthroughit,evenifthismediumreducedtheintensityoftheothercolours.

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48.Wemightwantnottocallawhitehigh-light"white",andthususethatwordonlyforthatwhichweseeasthecolourofasurface.

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49.OftwoplacesinmysurroundingswhichIseeinonesenseasbeingthesamecolour,inanothersense,theonecanseemtomewhiteandtheothergrey.

Tomeinonecontextthiscolouriswhiteinapoorlight,inanotheritisgreyingoodlight.

Thesearepropositionsabouttheconcepts'white'and'grey'.

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50.ThebucketwhichIseeinfrontofmeisglazedshiningwhite;itwouldbeabsurdtocallit"grey"ortosay"Ireallyseealightgrey".Butithasashinyhighlightthatisfarlighterthantherestofitssurfacepartofwhichisturnedtowardthelightandpartawayfromit,withoutappearingtobedifferentlycoloured.(Appearing,notjustbeing:)PageBreak9

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51.Itisnotthesamethingtosay:theimpressionofwhiteorgreycomesaboutundersuch-and-suchconditions(causal),and:itisanimpressioninacertaincontextofcoloursandforms.

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52.Whiteasacolourofsubstances(inthesenseinwhichwesaysnowiswhite)islighterthananyothersubstance-colour;blackdarker.Here

colourisadarkening,andifallsuchisremovedfromthesubstance,whiteremains,andforthisreasonwecancallit"colourless".

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53.Theisnosuchthingasphenomenology,butthereareindeedphenomenologicalproblems.

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54.Itiseasytoseethatnotallcolourconceptsarelogicallyofthesamesort,e.g.thedifferencebetweentheconcepts'colourofgold'or'colourofsilver'and'yellow'or'grey'.

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55.Acolour'shines'initssurroundings.(Justaseyesonlysmileinaface.)A'blackish'colour--e.g.grey--doesn't

'shine'.

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56.Thedifficultiesweencounterwhenwereflectaboutthenatureofcolours(thosewhichGoethewantedtogetsortedoutinhisTheoryofColours)areembeddedintheindeterminatenessofourconceptofsamenessofcolour.

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57.

["IfeelX"

"IobserveX"

Xdoesnotstandforthesameconceptinthefirstandthesecondsentences,evenifitmaystandforthesameverbalexpression,e.g.for"apain".Forifweask"whatkindofapain?"inthefirstcaseIcouldanswer"Thiskind"and,forexample,stickthequestionerwithaneedle.InthesecondcaseImustanswerthesamequestiondifferently;e.g."thepaininmyfoot".

InthesecondsentenceXcouldalsostandfor"mypain",butnotinthefirst.]

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58.ImaginesomeonepointingtoaplaceintheirisofaRembrandteyeandsaying:"Thewallsinmyroomshouldbepaintedthiscolour".

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59.Ipainttheviewfrommywindow;oneparticularspot,determinedbyitspositioninthearchitectureofahouse,Ipaintochre.IsaythisisthecolourIseethisspot.ThatdoesnotmeanthatIseethecolourofochrehere,forinthesesurroundingsthispigmentmaylooklighter,darker,morereddish,(etc.)."IseethisspotthewayIhavepainteditherewithochre,namelyasastronglyreddish-yellow".

ButwhatifsomeoneaskedmetogivetheexactshadeofcolourthatIseethere?--Howshoulditbedescribedandhowdetermined?Someonecouldaskmetoproduceacoloursample(arectangularpieceofpaperofthiscolour).Idon'tsaythatsuchacomparisonwouldbeutterlyuninteresting,butitshowsusthatitisn'tfromtheoutsetclearhowshadesofcolouraretobecomparedandwhat"samenessofcolour"means.

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60.Imagineapaintingcutupintosmall,almostmonochromaticbitswhicharethenusedaspiecesinajig-sawpuzzle.Evenwhensuchapieceisnotmonochromaticitshouldnotindicateanythree-dimensionalshape,butshouldappearasaflatcolour-patch.Onlytogetherwiththeotherpiecesdoesitbecomeabitofbluesky,ashadow,ahighlight,transparentoropaque,etc.Dotheindividualpiecesshowustherealcoloursofthepartsofthepicture?

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61.Weareinclinedtobelievetheanalysisofourcolourconceptswouldleadultimatelytothecoloursofplacesinourvisualfield,whichareindependentofanyspatialorphysicalinterpretation;forherethereisneitherlightnorshadow,norhigh-light,etc.,etc..

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62.ThefactthatIcansaythisplaceinmyvisualfieldisgrey-greendoesnotmeanthatIknowwhatshouldbecalledanexactreproductionofthisshadeofcolour.

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63.Iseeinaphotograph(notacolourphotograph)amanwithdarkhairandaboywithslicked-backblondhairstandinginfrontofakindoflathe,whichismadeinpartofcastingspaintedblack,andinpartofsmoothaxles,gears,etc.,andnexttoitagratingmadeoflightgalvanizedwire.Iseethefinishedironsurfacesasiron-coloured,theboy'shairasblond,thegratingaszinc-coloured,despitethefactthateverythingisdepictedinlighteranddarkertonesofthephotographicpaper.

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64.ButdoIreallyseethehairblondinthephotograph?Andwhatcanbesaidinfavorofthis?Whatreactionoftheviewerissupposedtoshowthatheseesthehairblond,anddoesn'tjustconcludefromtheshadesofthephotographthatitisblond?--IfIwereaskedtodescribethephotographIwoulddosointhemostdirectmannerwiththesewords.Ifthiswayofdescribingitwon'tdo,thenIwouldhavetostartlookingforanother.

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65.Iftheword"blond"itselfcansoundblond,thenit'seveneasierforphotographedhairtolookblond!

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66."Can'tweimaginecertainpeoplehavingadifferentgeometryofcolourthanwedo?"That,ofcourse,means:Can'tweimaginepeoplehavingcolourconceptsotherthanours?Andthatinturnmeans:Can'tweimaginepeoplewhodonothaveourcolourconceptsbutwhohaveconceptswhicharerelatedtooursinsuchawaythatwewouldalsocallthem"colourconcepts"?

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67.Lookatyourroomlateintheeveningwhenyoucanhardlydistinguishbetweencoloursanylonger--andnowturnonthelightandpaintwhatyousawearlierinthesemi-darkness.--Howdoyoucomparethecoloursinsuchapicturewiththoseofthesemi-darkroom?

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68.Whenwe'reasked"Whatdothewords'red','blue','black','white'mean?"wecan,ofcourse,immediatelypointtothingswhichhavethesecolours,--butourabilitytoexplainthemeaningsofthesewordsgoesnofurther!Fortherest,wehaveeithernoideaatalloftheiruse,oravery

roughandtosomeextentfalseone.

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69.Icanimaginealogicianwhotellsusthathehasnowsucceededinreallybeingabletothink22=4.

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70.Goethe'stheoryoftheconstitutionofthecoloursofthespectrumhasnotprovedtobeanunsatisfactorytheory,ratheritreallyisn'tatheoryatall.Nothingcanbepredictedwithit.Itis,rather,avagueschematicoutlineofthesortwefindinJames'spsychology.Noristhereanyexperimentumcruciswhichcoulddecidefororagainstthetheory.

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71.SomeonewhoagreeswithGoethebelievesthatGoethecorrectlyrecognizedthenatureofcolour.Andnaturehereisnotwhatresultsfromexperiments,butitliesintheconceptofcolour.

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72.OnethingwasirrefutablycleartoGoethe:nolightnesscancomeoutofdarkness--justasmoreandmoreshadowsdonotproducelight.--Thiscouldbeexpressedasfollows:wemaycalllilacareddish-whitish-blueorbrownablackish-reddish-yellow--butwecannotcallawhiteayellowish-reddish-greenish-blue,orthelike.Andthatissomethingthatexperimentswiththespectrumneitherconfirmnorrefute.Itwould,however,alsobewrongtosay,"Justlookatthecoloursinnatureandyouwillseethatitisso".Forlookingdoesnotteachusanythingabouttheconceptsofcolours.

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73.IcannotimaginethatGoethe'sremarksaboutthecharactersofthecoloursandcolourcombinationscouldbeofanyusetoapainter;theycouldbeofhardlyanytoadecorator.Thecolourofablood-shoteyemighthaveasplendideffectasthecolourofawall-hanging.Someonewhospeaksofthecharacterofacolourisalwaysthinkingofjustoneparticularwayitisused.

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74.Iftherewereatheoryofcolourharmony,perhapsitwouldbeginbydividingthecoloursintogroupsandforbiddingcertainmixturesorcombinationsandallowingothers.And,asinharmony,itsruleswouldbegivennojustification.

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75.Theremaybementaldefectiveswhocannotbetaughttheconcept'tomorrow',ortheconcept'I',nortotelltime.

Suchpeoplewouldnotlearntheuseoftheword'tomorrow'etc..

NowtowhomcanIdescribewhatthesepeoplecannotlearn?Justtoonewhohaslearntit?Can'tItellAthatBcannotlearnhighermathematics,eventhoughAhasn'tmasteredit?Doesn'tthepersonwhohaslearnedthegameunderstandtheword"chess"differentlyfromsomeonewhohasn'tlearntit?Therearedifferencesbetweentheuseofthewordwhichtheformercanmake,andtheusewhichthelatterhaslearnt.

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76.Doesdescribingagamealwaysmean:givingadescriptionthroughwhichsomeonecanlearnit?

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77.Dothenormallysightedandthecolour-blindhavethesameconceptofcolour-blindness?Thecolour-blindnotmerelycannotlearntouseourcolourwords,theycan'tlearntousetheword"colour-blind"asanormalpersondoes.Theycannot,forexample,establishcolour-blindnessinthesamewayasthenormaldo.

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78.Therecouldbepeoplewhodidn'tunderstandourwayofsayingthatorangeisaratherreddish-yellow,andwhowouldonlybeinclinedtosaysomethinglikethatincaseswhereatransitionfromyellowthroughorangetoredtookplacebeforetheireyes.Andforsuchpeopletheexpression"reddish-green"needpresentnodifficulties.

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79.Psychologydescribesthephenomenaofseeing.--Forwhomdoesitdescribethem?Whatignorancecanthisdescriptioneliminate?

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80.Psychologydescribeswhatwasobserved.

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81.Canonedescribetoablindpersonwhatit'slikeforsomeonetosee?--Certainly.Theblindlearnagreatdealaboutthedifferencebetweentheblindandthesighted.Butthequestionwasbadlyput;asthoughseeingwereanactivityandtherewereadescriptionofit.

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82.Ican,ofcourse,observecolour-blindness;thenwhynotseeing?--I

canobservewhatcolourjudgementsacolour-blindperson--oranormallysightedperson,too--makesundercertaincircumstances.

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83.Peoplesometimessay(thoughmistakenly),"OnlyIcanknowwhatIsee".Butnot:"OnlyIcanknowwhetherIamcolour-blind".(Noragain:"OnlyIcanknowwhetherIseeoramblind".)Page13

84.Thestatement,"Iseearedcircle"andthestatement"Isee(amnotblind)"arenotlogicallyofthesamesort.Howdowetestthetruthoftheformer,andhowthatofthelatter?

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85.ButcanIbelievethatIseeandbeblind,orbelievethatI'mblindandsee?

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86.Couldapsychologytextbookcontainthesentence,"Therearepeoplewhosee"?Wouldthisbewrong?Buttowhomwillitcommunicateanything?

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87.Howcanitbenonsensetosay,"Therearepeoplewhosee",ifitisnotnonsensetosay"Therearepeoplewhoareblind"?

ButsupposeIhadneverheardoftheexistenceofblindpeopleandonedaysomeonetoldme,"Therearepeoplewhodonotsee",wouldIhavetounderstandthissentenceimmediately?IfIamnotblindmyselfmustIbeconsciousthatIhavetheabilitytosee,andthat,therefore,theremaybe

peoplewhodonothavethisability?

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88.Ifthepsychologistteachesus,"Therearepeoplewhosee",wecanthenaskhim:"Andwhatdoyoucall'peoplewhosee'?"Theanswertothatwouldhavetobe:Peoplewhobehaveso-and-soundersuch-and-suchcircumstances.

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II

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1.Wemightspeakofthecolour-impressionofasurface,bywhichwewouldn'tmeanthecolour,butratherthecompositeoftheshadesofcolour,whichproducestheimpression(e.g.)ofabrownsurface.

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2.Blendinginwhiteremovesthecolourednessfromthecolour;butblendinginyellowdoesnot.--Isthatthebasisofthepropositionthattherecanbenocleartransparentwhite?

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3.Butwhatkindofapropositionisthat,thatblendinginwhiteremovesthecolourednessfromthecolour?

AsImeanit,itcan'tbeapropositionofphysics.

Herethetemptationtobelieveinaphenomenology,somethingmidwaybetweenscienceandlogic,isverygreat.

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4.Whatthenistheessentialnatureofcloudiness?Forredoryellowtransparentthingsarenotcloudy;whiteiscloudy.

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5.Iscloudythatwhichconcealsforms,andconcealsformsbecauseitobliterateslightandshadow?

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6.Isn'twhitethatwhichdoesawaywithdarkness?

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7.Wespeak,ofcourse,of'blackglass',yetyouseeawhitesurfaceasredthroughredglassbutnotasblackthrough

'black'glass.

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8.Peopleoftenusetintedlensesintheireye-glassesinordertoseeclearly,butnevercloudylenses.

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9."Theblendinginofwhiteobliteratesthedifferencebetweenlightanddark,lightandshadow";doesthatdefinetheconceptsmoreclosely?Yes,Ibelieveitdoes.

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10.Ifsomeonedidn'tfindittobethisway,itwouldn'tbethathehad

experiencedthecontrary,butratherthatwewouldn'tunderstandhim.

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11.Inphilosophywemustalwaysask:"Howmustwelookatthisprobleminorderforittobecomesolvable?"

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12.Forhere(whenIconsidercolours,forexample)thereismerelyaninabilitytobringtheconceptsintosomekindoforder.

Westandthereliketheoxinfrontofthenewly-paintedstalldoor.

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13.Thinkabouthowapainterwoulddepicttheviewthroughared-tintedglass.Whatresultsisacomplicatedsurfacepicture.I.e.thepicturewillcontainagreatmanygradationsofredandofothercoloursadjacenttooneanother.Andanalogouslyifyoulookedthroughablueglass.

Buthowaboutifyoupaintedapicturesuchthattheplacesbecomewhitishwhere,before,somethingwasmadebluishorreddish?

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14.Istheonlydifferenceherethatthecoloursremainassaturatedasbeforewhenareddishlightiscastonthem,whiletheydon'twiththewhitishlight?Butwedon'tspeakofa'whitishlightcastonthings'atall!

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15.Ifeverythinglookedwhitishinaparticularlight,wewouldn'tthen

concludethatthelightsourcemustlookwhite.

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16.Phenomenologicalanalysis(ase.g.Goethewouldhaveit)isanalysisofconceptsandcanneitheragreewithnorcontradictphysics.

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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)?

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19.Butwouldn'ttherebeacontradictionhere?

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20.Idon'tseethatthecoloursofbodiesreflectlightintomyeye.

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III

24.3.50

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1.?Whitemustbethelightestcolourinapicture.

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2.IntheTricolour,forexample,thewhitecannotbedarkerthantheblueandred.

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3.Herewehaveasortofmathematicsofcolour.

26.3

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4.Butpureyellowtooislighterthanpure,saturatedred,orblue.Andisthispropositionamatterofexperience?--Idon'tknow,forexample,whetherred(i.e.purered)islighterordarkerthanblue;tobeabletosay,Iwouldhavetoseethem.Andyet,ifIhadseenthem,Iwouldknowtheansweronceandforall,liketheresultofanarithmeticalcalculation.

Wheredowedrawthelineherebetweenlogicandexperience?

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5.Thewordwhosemeaningisnotclearis"pure"or"saturated".Howdowelearnitsmeaning?Howcanwetellifpeoplemeanthesamethingbyit?Icallacolour(e.g.red)"saturated"ifitcontainsneitherblacknorwhite,ifitisneitherblackishnorwhitish.

Butthisexplanationonlyleadstoaprovisionalunderstanding.

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6.Whatistheimportanceoftheconceptofsaturatedcolour?

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7.Onefactisobviouslyimportanthere:namelythatpeoplereserveaspecialplaceforagivenpointonthecolourwheel,andthattheydon'thavetogotoalotoftroubletorememberwherethepointis,butalwaysfinditeasily.

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8.Istheresuchathingasa'naturalhistoryofcolours'andtowhatextentisitanalogoustoanaturalhistoryofplants?Isn'tthelattertemporal,theformernontemporal

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9.Ifwesaythattheproposition"saturatedyellowislighterthansaturatedblue"doesn'tbelongtotherealmofpsychology(foronly

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socoulditbenaturalhistory)--thismeansthatwearenotusingitasapropositionofnaturalhistory.Andthequestionthenis:whatistheother,nontemporaluselike?

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10.Forthisistheonlywaywecandistinguishpropositionsof'themathematicsofcolour'fromthoseofnaturalhistory.

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11.Oragain,thequestionisthis:canwe(clearly)distinguishtwouseshere?

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12.Ifyouimpresstwoshadesofcolouronyourmemory,andAislighterthanB,andthenlateryoucalloneshade

"A"andanother"B"buttheoneyoucalled"B"islighterthan"A",youhavecalledtheseshadesbythewrongnames.(Thisislogic).

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13.Lettheconceptofa'saturated'colourbesuchthatsaturatedXcannotbelighterthansaturatedYatonetimeanddarkeratanother;i.e.itmakesnosensetosayitislighteratonetimeanddarkeratanother.Thisdeterminestheconceptandisagainamatteroflogic.

Theusefulnessofaconceptdeterminedinthiswayisnotdecidedhere.

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14.Thisconceptmightonlyhaveaverylimiteduse.AndthissimplybecausewhatweusuallycallasaturatedXisanimpressionofcolourinaparticularsurrounding.Itiscomparableto'transparent'X.

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15.Giveexamplesofsimplelanguage-gameswiththeconceptof'saturatedcolours'.

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16.Iassumethatcertainchemicalcompounds,e.g.thesaltsofagivenacid,havesaturatedcoloursandcouldberecognizedbythem.

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17.Oryoucouldtellwherecertainflowerscomefrombytheirsaturatedcolours,e.g.youcouldsay,"Thatmustbeanalpineflowerbecauseitscolourissointense".

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18.Butinsuchacasetherecouldbelighteranddarkersaturatedred,etc.

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19.Anddon'tIhavetoadmitthatsentencesareoftenusedontheborderlinebetweenlogicandtheempirical,sothattheirmeaning

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shiftsbackandforthandtheyarenowexpressionsofnorms,nowtreatedasexpressionsofexperience?

Foritisnotthe'thought'(anaccompanyingmentalphenomenon)butitsuse(somethingthatsurroundsit),thatdistinguishesthelogicalpropositionfromtheempiricalone.

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20.(Thewrongpictureconfuses,therightpicturehelps.)

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21.Thequestionwillbe,e.g.:canyouteachthemeaningof"saturatedgreen"byteaching1themeaningof

"saturatedred",or"yellow",or"blue"?

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22.Ashine,a'high-light'cannotbeblack.IfIweretosubstituteblacknessforthelightnessofhigh-lightsinapicture,Iwouldn'tgetblacklights.Andthatisnotsimplybecausethisistheoneandonlyforminwhichahigh-lightoccursinnature,butalsobecausewereacttoalightinthisspotinacertainway.Aflagmaybeyellowandblack,anotheryellowandwhite.

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23.Transparencypaintedinapictureproducesitseffectinadifferentwaythanopaqueness.

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24.Whyistransparentwhiteimpossible?--Paintatransparentredbody,andthensubstitutewhiteforred!

Blackandwhitethemselveshaveahandinthebusiness,wherewehavetransparencyofacolour.Substitutewhiteforredandyounolongerhavetheimpressionoftransparency;justasyounolongerhavetheimpressionofsolidityifyouturnthisdrawing

intothisone

.

27.3

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25.Whyisn'tasaturatedcoloursimply:this,orthis,orthis,orthis?--

Becausewerecognizeitordetermineitinadifferentway.

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26.Somethingthatmaymakeussuspiciousisthatsomepeoplehavethoughttheyrecognizedthreeprimarycolours,somefour.Somehavethoughtgreentobeanintermediarycolourbetweenblueandyellow,whichstrikesme,forexample,aswrong,evenapartfromanyexperience.

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Blueandyellow,aswellasredandgreen,seemtometobeopposites--butperhapsthatissimplybecauseIamusedtoseeingthematoppositepointsonthecolourcircle.

Indeed,what(sotospeakpsychological)importancedoesthequestionastothenumberofPureColourshaveforme?

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27.Iseemtoseeonethingthatisoflogicalimportance:ifyoucallgreenanintermediarycolourbetweenblueandyellow,thenyoumustalsobeabletosay,forexample,whataslightlybluishyellowis,oranonlysomewhatyellowishblue.Andtometheseexpressionsdon'tmeananythingatall.Butmightn'ttheymeansomethingtosomeoneelse?

Soifsomeonedescribedthecolourofawalltomebysaying:"Itwasasomewhatreddishyellow,"IcouldunderstandhiminsuchawaythatIcouldchooseapproximatelytherightcolourfromamonganumberofsamples.

Butifsomeonedescribedthecolourinthisway:"Itwasasomewhatbluishyellow,"Icouldnotshowhimsuchasample.--Hereweusuallysay

thatintheonecasewecanimaginethecolour,andintheotherwecan't--butthiswayofspeakingismisleading,forthereisnoneedwhatsoevertothinkofanimagethatappearsbeforetheinnereye.

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28.Thereissuchathingasperfectpitchandtherearepeoplewhodon'thaveit;similarlywecouldsupposethattherecouldbeagreatrangeofdifferenttalentswithrespecttoseeingcolours.Compare,forexample,theconcept

'saturatedcolour'with'warmcolour'.Mustitbethecasethateveryoneknows'warm'and'cool'colours?Apartfrombeingtaughttogivethisorthatnametoacertaindisjunctionofcolours.

Couldn'ttherebeapainter,forexample,whohadnoconceptwhatsoeverof'fourpurecolours'andwhoevenfounditridiculoustotalkaboutsuchathing?

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29.Orinotherwords:arepeopleforwhomthisconceptisnotatallnaturalmissinganything?

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30.Askthisquestion:Doyouknowwhat"reddish"means?Andhowdoyoushowthatyouknowit?

Language-games:"Pointtoareddishyellow(white,blue,brown)--"Pointtoanevenmorereddishone"--"Alessreddishone"etc.

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Nowthatyou'vemasteredthisgameyouwillbetold"Pointtoa

somewhatreddishgreen"Assumetherearetwocases:Eitheryoudopointtoacolour(andalwaysthesameone),perhapstoanolivegreen--oryousay,"Idon'tknowwhatthatmeans,"or"There'snosuchthing."

Wemightbeinclinedtosaythattheonepersonhadadifferentcolourconceptfromtheother;oradifferentconceptof'...ish.'

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31.Wespeakof"colour-blindness"andcallitadefect.Buttherecouldeasilybeseveraldifferingabilities,noneofwhichisclearlyinferiortotheothers.--Andremember,too,thatamanmaygothroughlifewithouthiscolour-blindnessbeingnoticed,untilsomespecialoccasionbringsittolight.

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32.Isitpossiblethenfordifferentpeopleinthiswaytohavedifferentcolourconcepts?--Somewhatdifferentones.

Differentwithrespecttooneoranotherfeature.Andthatwillimpairtheirmutualunderstandingtoagreaterorlesserextent,butoftenhardlyatall.

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33.HereIwouldliketomakeageneralobservationconcerningthenatureofphilosophicalproblems.Lackofclarityinphilosophyistormenting.Itisfeltasshameful.Wefeel:wedonotknowourwayaboutwhereweshouldknowourwayabout.Andneverthelessitisn'tso.Wecangetalongverywellwithoutthesedistinctionsandwithoutknowingourwayabouthere.

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34.Whatistheconnectionbetweentheblendingofcoloursand'intermediarycolours'?Wecanobviouslyspeakofintermediarycoloursinalanguage-gameinwhichwedonotproducecoloursbymixingatall,butonlyselectexistingshades.

Yetoneuseoftheconceptofanintermediarycolouristorecognizetheblendofcolourswhichproducesagivenshade.

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35.Lichtenbergsaysthatveryfewpeoplehaveeverseenpurewhite.Domostpeopleusethewordwrong,then?

Andhowdidhelearnthecorrectuse?--Onthecontrary:heconstructedanidealusefromtheactualone.Thewayweconstructageometry.And'ideal'doesnotmeansomethingspeciallygood,butonlysomethingcarriedtoextremes.

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36.Andofcoursesuchaconstructcaninturnteachussomethingabouttheactualuse.

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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.

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38.Letusnowsupposethatpeopledidn'tcontrastcolouredpictureswithblack-and-whiteones,butratherwithblue-and-whiteones.I.e.:couldn'tbluetoobefelt(andthatistosay,used)asnotbeinganactualcolour?

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39.Myfeelingisthatblueobliteratesyellow,--butwhyshouldn'tIcallasomewhatgreenishyellowa"bluishyellow"

andgreenanintermediarycolourbetweenblueandyellow,andastronglybluishgreenasomewhatyellowishblue?

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40.InagreenishyellowIdon'tyetnoticeanythingblue.--Forme,greenisonespecialway-stationonthecolouredpathfrombluetoyellow,andredisanother.

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41.Whatadvantagewouldsomeonehaveovermewhoknewadirectroutefrombluetoyellow?AndwhatshowsthatIdon'tknowsuchapath?--Doeseverythingdependonmyrangeofpossiblelanguage-gamswiththeform"...

ish"?

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42.Wewill,therefore,havetoaskourselves:Whatwoulditbelikeifpeopleknewcolourswhichourpeoplewithnormalvisiondonotknow?Ingeneralthisquestionwillnotadmitofanunambiguousanswer.Foritisbynomeansclearthatwemustsayofthissortofabnormalpeoplethattheyknowothercolours.Thereis,afterall,nocommonlyacceptedcriterionforwhatisacolour,unlessitisoneofourcolours.

Andyetwecouldimaginecircumstancesunderwhichwewouldsay,"Thesepeopleseeothercoloursinadditiontoours."

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28.3

43.Inphilosophyitisnotenoughtolearnineverycasewhatistobesaidaboutasubject,butalsohowonemustspeakaboutit.Wearealwayshavingtobeginbylearningthemethodoftacklingit.

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44.Oragain:Inanyseriousquestionuncertaintyextendstotheveryrootsoftheproblem.

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45.Onemustalwayshepreparedtolearnsomethingtotallynew.

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46.Amongthecolours:KinshipandContrast.(Andthatislogic.)

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47.Whatdoesitmeantosay,"Brownisakintoyellow?"

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48.Doesitmeanthatthetaskofchoosingasomewhatbrownishyellowwouldbereadilyunderstood?(Orasomewhatmoreyellowishbrown).

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49.Thecolouredintermediarybetweentwocolours.

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50."Yellowismoreakintoredthantoblue."

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51.Thedifferencesbetweenblack-red-goldandblack-red-yellow.Goldcountsasacolourhere.

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52.Itisafactthatwecancommunicatewithoneanotheraboutthecoloursofthingsbymeansofsixcolourwords.

Also,thatwedonotusethewords"reddish-green","yellowish-blue"etc.

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53.Descriptionofajig-sawpuzzlebymeansofthedescriptionofitspieces.Iassumethatthesepiecesneverexhibitathree-dimensionalform,butalwaysappearassmallflatbits,single-ormany-coloured.Onlywhentheyareputtogetherdoessomethingbecomea'shadow',a'high-light',a'concaveorconvexmonochromaticsurface',etc.

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54.Icansay:Thismandoesnotdistinguishbetweenredandgreen.ButcanIsaythatwenormalpeopledistinguishbetweenredandgreen?Wecould,however,say:"Hereweseetwocolours,heseesonlyone."

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55.Thedescriptionofthephenomenaofcolour-blindnessispartofpsychology.Andthedescriptionofthephenomenaofnormalcolourvisiontoo?Ofcourse--butwhatarethepresuppositionsofsuchadescriptionandforwhomisitadescription?Orbetter:whatarethemeansitemploys?WhenIsay,"Whatdoesitpresuppose?"thatmeans"Howmustonereacttothisdescriptioninordertounderstandit?"Someonewhodescribesthephenomenaofcolour-blindnessinabookdescribesthemintheconceptsofthesighted.

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56.Thispaperislighterinsomeplacesthaninothers;butcanIsaythatitiswhiteonlyincertainplacesandgrayinothers??--Certainly,ifIpaintedit,Iwouldmixagrayforthedarkerplaces.

Asurface-colourisaqualityofasurface.Onemight(therefore)betemptednottocallitapurecolourconcept.Butthenwhatwouldapureonebe?!

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57.Itisnotcorrecttosaythatinapicturewhitemustalwaysbethelightestcolour.Butitmustbethelightestoneinaflatpatternofcolouredpatches.Apicturemightshowabookmadeofwhitepaperinshadow,andlighterthanthisaluminousyelloworblueorreddishsky.ButifI

describeaplanesurface,awallpaper,forexample,bysayingthatitconsistsofpureyellow,red,blue,whiteandblacksquares,theyellowonescannotbelighterthanthewhiteones,andtheredcannotbelighterthantheyellow.

ThisiswhycolourswereshadowsforGoethe.

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58.Thereseemstobeamorefundamental'colourconceptthanthatofthesurfacecolour.Itseemsthatonecouldpresentiteitherbymeansofsmallcolouredelementsinthefieldofvision,orbymeansofluminouspointsratherlikestars.Andlargercolouredareasarecomposedofthesecolouredpointsorsmallcolouredpatches.Thuswecoulddescribethecolourimpressionofasurfaceareabyspecifyingthepositionofthenumeroussmallcolouredpatcheswithinthisarea.

Buthowshouldwe,forexample,compareoneofthesesmallcoloursampleswithapieceofthelargersurfacearea?Inwhatsurroundingsshouldthecoloursampleoccur?

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59.Ineverydaylifewearevirtuallysurroundedbyimpurecolours.Allthemoreremarkablethatwehaveformedaconceptofpurecolours.

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29.3

60.Whydon'twespeakofa'pure'brown?Isthereasonmerelythepositionofbrownwithrespecttotheother'pure'

colours,itsrelationshiptothemall?--Brownis,aboveall,asurfacecolour,i.e.thereisnosuchthingasaclearbrown,butonlyamuddyone.Also:browncontainsblack--(?)--Howwouldapersonhavetobehaveforustosayofhimthatheknowsapure,primarybrown?

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61.Wemustalwaysbearinmindthequestion:Howdopeoplelearnthemeaningofcolournames?

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62.Whatdoes,"Browncontainsblack,"mean?Therearemoreandlessblackishbrowns.Isthereonewhichisn'tblackishatall?Therecertainlyisn'tonethatisn'tyellowishatall.1

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63.Ifwecontinuetothinkalongtheselines,'internalproperties'ofacolourgraduallyoccurtous,whichwehadn'tthoughtofattheoutset.Andthatcanshowusthecourseofaphilosophicalinvestigation.Wemustalwaysbepreparedtocomeacrossanewone,onethathasnotoccurredtousearlier.

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64.Andwemustnotforgeteitherthatourcolourwordscharacterizetheimpressionofasurfaceoverwhichourglancewanders.That'swhatthey'refor.

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65."Brownlight".Supposesomeoneweretosuggestthatatrafficlightbebrown.

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66.Itisonlytobeexpectedthatwewillfindadjectives(as,forexample,"iridescent")whicharecolourcharacteristicsofanextendedareaorofasmallexpanseinaparticularsurrounding"shimmering","glittering",

"gleaming","luminous").

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67.Andindeedthepurecoloursdonotevenhavespecialcommonlyusednames,that'showunimportanttheyaretous.

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68.Letusimaginethatsomeoneweretopaintsomethingfromnatureandinitsnaturalcolours.Everybitofthesurfaceofsuchapaintinghasadefinitecolour.Whatcolour?HowdoIdetermineitsname?Shouldwe,e.g.usethenameunderwhichthepigmentappliedtoitissold?Butmightn'tsuchapigmentlookcompletelydifferentinitsspecialsurroundingthanonthepalette?

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69.Soperhapswewouldthenstarttogivespecialnamestosmallcolouredpatchesonablackbackground(forexample).

WhatIreallywanttoshowhereisthatitisnotatallclearaprioriwhicharethesimplecolourconcepts.

30.3

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70.Itisnottruethatadarkercolourisatthesametimeamoreblackishone.That'scertainlyclear.Asaturatedyellowisdarker,butisnotmoreblackishthanawhitishyellow.Butamberisn'ta'blackishyellow'either.(?)Andyetpeoplespeakofa'black'glassormirror.--Perhapsthetroubleisthatby"black"Imeanessentiallyasurfacecolour?

Iwouldnotsayofarubythatitisblackishred,forthatwouldsuggestcloudiness.(Ontheotherhand,don'tforgetthatbothcloudinessandtransparencycanbepainted.)Page26

71.Itreatcolourconceptsliketheconceptsofsensations.

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72.Thecolourconceptsaretobetreatedliketheconceptsofsensations.

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73.Thereisnosuchthingasthepurecolourconcept.

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74.Wheredoestheillusioncomefromthen?Aren'twedealingherewithaprematuresimplificationoflogiclikeanyother?

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75.I.e.,thevariouscolourconceptsarecertainlycloselyrelatedtooneanother,thevarious'colourwords'havearelateduse,butthereare,ontheotherhand,allkindsofdifferences.

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76.Rungesaysthattherearetransparentandopaquecolours.Butthisdoesnotmeanthatyouwouldusedifferentgreenstopaintapieceof

greenglassandagreenclothinapicture.

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77.Itisapeculiarsteptakeninpainting,thatofdepictingahighlightbymeansofacolour.

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78.Theindefinitenessintheconceptofcolourlies,aboveall,intheindefinitenessoftheconceptofthesamenessofcolours,i.e.ofthemethodofcomparingcolours.

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79.Thereisgoldpaint,butRembrandtdidn'tuseittopaintagoldenhelmet.

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80.Whatmakesgreyaneutralcolour?Isitsomethingphysiologicalorsomethinglogical?

Whatmakesbrightcoloursbright?Isitaconceptualmatteroramatterofcauseandeffect?

Whydon'tweincludeblackandwhiteinthecolourcircle?Onlybecausewehaveafeelingthatit'swrong?

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81.Thereisnosuchthingasluminousgrey.Isthatpartoftheconceptofgrey,orpartofthepsychology,i.e.thenaturalhistory,ofgrey?Andisn't

itoddthatIdon'tknow?

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82.Colourshavecharacteristiccausesandeffects--thatwedoknow.

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83.Greyisbetweentwoextremes(blackandwhite),andcantakeonthehueofanyothercolour.

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84.Woulditbeconceivableforsomeonetoseeasblackeverythingthatweseeaswhite,andviceversa?

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85.Inabrightlycolouredpatternblackandwhitecanbenexttoredandgreen,etc.withoutstandingoutasdifferent.

Thiswouldnotbethecase,however,inthecolourcircle,ifonlybecauseblackandwhitemixwithalltheothercolours.Butalsoinparticular,theybothmixwiththeiroppositepole.

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86.Can'tweimaginepeoplehavingageometryofcoloursdifferentfromournormalone?Andthat,ofcourse,means:canwedescribeit,canweimmediatelyrespondtotherequesttodescribeit,thatis,doweknowunambiguouslywhatisbeingdemandedofus?

Thedifficultyisobviouslythis:isn'titpreciselythegeometryofcoloursthatshowsuswhatwe'retalkingabout,i.e.thatwearetalkingaboutcolours?

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87.Thedifficultyofimaginingit(oroffillingoutthepictureofit)isinknowingwhenonehaspicturedthat.I.e.theindefinitenessoftherequesttoimagineit.

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88.Thedifficultyis,therefore,oneofknowingwhatwearesupposedtoconsiderastheanalogueofsomethingthatisfamiliartous.

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89.Acolourwhichwouldbe'dirty'ifitwerethecolourofawall,needn'tbesoinapainting.

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90.IdoubtthatGoethe'sremarksaboutthecharactersofthecolourscouldbeofanyusetoapainter.Theycouldhardlybeanytoadecorator.

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91.Iftherewereatheoryofcolourharmony,perhapsitwouldbeginbydividingthecoloursintodifferentgroupsandforbiddingcertainmixturesorcombinationsandallowingothers;and,asinharmony,itsruleswouldbegivennojustification.

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92.Mayn'tthatopenoureyestothenatureofthosedifferentiationsamongcolours?

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93.[Wedon'tsayAknowssomethingandBknowstheopposite.Butifwesay"believes"insteadof"knows",thenitisaproposition.]

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94.RungetoGoethe:"Ifweweretothinkofabluishorange,areddishgreenorayellowishviolet,wewouldhavethesamefeelingasinthecaseofasouthwesterlynorthwind."

Also:whatamountstothesamething,"Bothwhiteandblackareopaqueorsolid....Whitewaterwhichispureisasinconceivableasclearmilk.Ifblackmerelymadethingsdark,itcouldindeedbeclear;butbecauseitsmirchesthings,itcan'tbe."

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95.InmyroomIamsurroundedbyobjectsofdifferentcolours.Itiseasytosaywhatcolourtheyare.ButifIwereaskedwhatcolourIamnowseeingfromhereat,say,thisplaceonmytable,Icouldn'tanswer;theplaceiswhitish(becausethelightwallmakesthebrowntablelighterhere)atanyrateitismuchlighterthantherestofthetable,but,givenanumberofcoloursamples,Iwouldn'tbeabletopickoutonewhichhadthesamecolorationasthisareaofthetable.

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96.Becauseitseemssotome--ortoeverybody--itdoesnotfollowthatitisso.

Therefore:Fromthefactthatthistableseemsbrowntoeveryone,itdoesnotfollowthatitisbrown.Butjustwhatdoesitmeantosay,"Thistable

isn'treallybrownafterall"?--Sodoesitthenfollowfromitsappearingbrowntous,thatitisbrown?

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97.Don'twejustcallbrownthetablewhichundercertaincircumstancesappearsbrowntothenormal-sighted?Wecouldcertainlyconceiveofsomeonetowhomthingsseemedsometimesthiscolourandsometimesthat,independentlyofthecolourtheyare.

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98.Thatitseemssotomenistheircriterionforitsbeingso.

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99.Beingandseemingmay,ofcourse,beindependentofoneanotherinexceptionalcases,butthatdoesn'tmakethemlogicallyindependent;thelanguage-gamedoesnotresideintheexception.

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100.Goldenisasurfacecolour.

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101.Wehaveprejudiceswithrespecttotheuseofwords.

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102.Whenwe'reasked"Whatdo'red','blue','black','white,mean?"wecan,ofcourse,immediatelypointtothingswhichhavethesecolours,--butthat'sallwecando:ourabilitytoexplaintheirmeaninggoesnofurther.

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103.Fortherest,eitherwehavenoideaatall,oraveryroughandtosomeextentfalseone.

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104.'Dark'and'blackish'arenotthesameconcept.

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105.Rungesaysthatblack'dirties';whatdoesthatmean?Isthatanemotionaleffectwhichblackhasonus?Isitaneffectoftheadditionofblackcolourthatismeanthere?

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106.Whyisitthatadarkyellowdoesn'thavetobeperceivedas'blackish',evenifwecallitdark?

Thelogicoftheconceptofcolourisjustmuchmorecomplicatedthanitmightseem.

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107.Theconcepts'matt'and'shiny'.If,whenwethinkof'colour'wethinkofapropertyofapointinspace,thentheconceptsmattandshinyhavenoreferencetothesecolourconcepts.

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108.Thefirst'solution'whichoccurstousfortheproblemofcoloursisthatthe'pure'colourconceptsrefertopointsortinyindivisiblepatchesin

space.Question:howarewetocomparethecoloursoftwosuchpoints?Simplybylettingone'sgazemovefromonetotheother?Orbymovingacolouredobject?Ifthelatter,howdoweknowthatthisobjecthasnotchangedcolourintheprocess;iftheformer,howcanwecomparethecolouredpointswithoutthecomparisonbeinginfluencedbywhatsurroundsthem?

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109.Icouldimaginealogicianwhotellsusthathehasnowsucceededinreallybeingabletothink22=4.

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110.Ifyouarenotclearabouttheroleoflogicincolourconcepts,beginwiththesimplecaseof,e.g.ayellowishred.

Thisexists,noonedoubtsthat.HowdoIlearntheuseoftheword"yellowish"?Throughlanguage-gamesinwhich,forexample,thingsareputinacertainorder.

ThusIcanlearn,inagreementwithotherpeople,torecognizeyellowishandstillmoreyellowishred,green,brownandwhite.

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InthecourseofthisIlearntoproceedindependentlyjustasIdoinarithmetic.Onepersonmayreacttotheordertofindayellowishbluebyproducingabluegreen,anothermaynotunderstandtheorder.Whatdoesthisdependupon?

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111.Isayblue-greencontainsnoyellow:ifsomeoneelseclaimsthatitcertainlydoescontainyellow,who'sright?

Howcanwecheck?Isthereonlyaverbaldifferencebetweenus?--Won'ttheonerecognizeapuregreenthattendsneithertowardbluenortowardyellow?Andofwhatuseisthis?Inwhatlanguage-gamescanitbeused?Hewillatleastbeabletorespondtothecommandtopickoutthegreenthingsthatcontainnoyellow,andthosethatcontainnoblue.Andthisconstitutesthedemarcationpoint'green',whichtheotherdoesnotknow.

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112.Theonecanlearnalanguage-gamethattheotheronecannot.Andindeedthismustbewhatconstitutescolour-blindnessofall

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kinds.Forifthe'colour-blind'personcouldlearnallthelanguage-gamesofnormalpeople,whyshouldhebeexcludedfromcertainprofessions?

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113.IfsomeonehadcalledthisdifferencebetweengreenandorangetoRunge'sattention,perhapshewouldhavegivenuptheideathatthereareonlythreeprimarycolours.

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114.Nowtowhatextentisitamatteroflogicratherthanpsychologythatsomeonecanorcannotlearnagame?

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115.Isay:Thepersonwhocannotplaythisgamedoesnothavethisconcept.

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116.Whohastheconcept'tomorrow'?Ofwhomdowesaythis?

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117.Isawinaphotographaboywithslicked-backblondhairandadirtylight-colouredjacket,andamanwithdarkhair,standinginfrontofamachinewhichwasmadeinpartofcastingspaintedblack,andinpartoffinished,smoothaxles,gears,etc.,andnexttoitagratingmadeoflightgalvanizedwire.Thefinishedironpartswereironcoloured,theboy'shairwasblond,thecastingsblack,thegratingzinc-coloured,despitethefactthateverythingwasdepictedsimplyinlighteranddarkershadesofthephotographicpaper.

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118.Theremaybementaldefectiveswhocannotbetaughttheconcept'tomorrow'ortheconcept'I',nortotelltime.

Suchwouldnotlearntheuseoftheword'tomorrow'etc.

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119.NowtowhomcanIcommunicatewhatthismentaldefectivecannotlearn.?Justtowhoeverhaslearnedithimself?Can'tItellsomeonethatso-and-socannotlearnhighermathematics,evenifthispersonhimselfhasn'tmasteredit?Andyet:doesn'tthepersonwhohaslearnedhighermathematicsknowmorepreciselywhatImean?

Doesn'tthepersonwhohaslearnedthegameunderstandtheword'chess'differentlyfromsomeonewhodoesn'tknowit?Whatdowecall"describingatechnique"?

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120.Or:Donormallysightedpeopleandcolour-blindpeoplehavethesameconceptofcolour-blindness?

Andyetthecolour-blindpersonunderstandsthestatement"Iamcolour-blind",anditsnegationaswell.

Acolour-blindpersonnotmerelycan'tlearntouseourcolourwords,hecan'tlearntousetheword

"colour-blind"exactlyasanormalpersondoes.Hecannotforexamplealwaysdeterminecolour-blindnessincaseswherethenormal-sightedcan.

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121.AndtowhomcanIdescribeallthethingswenormalpeoplecanlearn?

Understandingthedescriptionitselfalreadypresupposesthathehaslearnedsomething.

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122.HowcanIdescribetosomeonehowweusetheword"tomorrow"?Icanteachittoachild;butthisdoesnotmeanI'mdescribingitsusetohim.

ButcanIdescribethepracticeofpeoplewhohaveaconcept,e.g.'reddish-green',thatwedon'tpossess?--InanycaseIcertainlycan'tteachthispracticetoanyone.

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123.CanIthenonlysay:"Thesepeoplecallthis(brown,forexample)reddishgreen"?Wouldn'titthenjustbeanotherwordforsomethingthatI

haveawordfor?IftheyreallyhaveadifferentconceptthanIdo,thismustbeshownbythefactthatIcan'tquitefigureouttheiruseofwords.

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124.ButIhavekeptonsayingthatit'sconceivableforourconceptstobedifferentthantheyare.Wasthatallnonsense?

11.4

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125.Goethe'stheoryoftheoriginofthespectrumisn'tatheoryofitsoriginthathasprovedunsatisfactory;itisreallynotatheoryatall.Nothingcanbepredictedbymeansofit.Itis,rather,avagueschematicoutline,ofthesortwefindinJames'spsychology.ThereisnoexperimentumcrucisforGoethe'stheoryofcolour.

SomeonewhoagreeswithGoethefindsthatGoethecorrectlyrecognizedthenatureofcolour.Andhere

'nature'doesnotmeanasumofexperienceswithrespecttocolours,butitistobefoundintheconceptofcolour.

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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

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127.'Thecolours'arenotthingsthathavedefiniteproperties,sothatonecouldstraightofflookfororimaginecoloursthatwedon'tyetknow,orimaginesomeonewhoknowsdifferentonesthanwedo.Itisquitepossiblethat,undercertaincircumstances,wewouldsaythatpeopleknowcoloursthatwedon'tknow,butwearenotforcedtosaythis,forthereisnoindicationastowhatweshouldregardasadequateanalogiestoourcolours,inordertobeabletosayit.Thisislikethecaseinwhichwespeakofinfra-red'light';thereisagoodreasonfordoingit,butwecanalsocallitamisuse.

Andsomethingsimilaristruewithmyconcept'havingpaininsomeoneelse'sbody'.

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128.Therecouldveryeasilybeatribeofpeoplewhoareallcolour-blindandwhononethelessliveverywell;butwouldtheyhavedevelopedallourcolournames,andhowwouldtheirnomenclaturecorrespondtoours?Whatwouldtheirnaturallanguagebelike??Doweknow?Wouldtheyperhapshavethreeprimarycolours:blue,yellowandathirdwhichtakestheplaceofredandgreen?--Whatifweweretoencountersuchatribeandwantedtolearntheirlanguage?Wewouldnodoubtrunintocertaindifficulties.

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129.Couldn'ttherebepeoplewhodidn'tunderstandourwayofspeakingwhenwesaythatorangeisareddish-yellow(etc.)andwhowereonlyinclinedtosaythisincasesinwhichorangeoccursinanactualtransition

fromredtoyellow?Andforsuchpeopletheremightverywellbeareddishgreen.

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Therefore,theycouldn't'analyseblendsofcolours'norcouldtheylearnouruseofX-ishY.(Likepeoplewithoutperfectpitch).

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130.Andwhataboutpeoplewhoonlyhadcolour-shapeconcepts?ShouldIsayofthemthattheydonotseethatagreenleafanda

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greentable--whenIshowthemthesethings--havethesamecolourorhavesomethingincommon?Whatifithadnever'occurredtothem'tocomparedifferentlyshapedobjectsofthesamecolourwithoneanother?Duetotheirparticularbackground,thiscomparisonwasofnoimportancetothem,orhadimportanceonlyinveryexceptionalcases,sothatnolinguistictoolwasdeveloped.

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131.Alanguage-game:reportonthegreaterlightnessordarknessofbodies.--Butnowthereisarelatedone:statetherelationshipbetweenthelightnessofcertaincolours.(Compare:therelationshipbetweenthelengthsoftwogivensticks-therelationshipbetweentwogivennumbers.)

Theformofthepropositionsisthesameinbothcases("XlighterthanY").Butinthefirstlanguage-gametheyaretemporalandinthesecondnon-temporal.

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132.Inaparticularmeaningof"white"whiteisthelightestcolourofall.

Inapictureinwhichapieceofwhitepapergetsitslightnessfromthebluesky,theskyislighterthanthewhitepaper.Andyetinanothersenseblueisthedarkerandwhitethelightercolour(Goethe).Withawhiteandablueonthepalette,theformerwouldbelighterthanthelatter.Onthepalette,whiteisthelightestcolour.

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133.Imayhaveimpressedacertaingrey-greenuponmymemorysothatIcanalwayscorrectlyidentifyitwithoutasample.Purered(blue,etc.)however,Ican,sotospeak,alwaysreconstruct.Itissimplyaredthattendsneithertoonesidenortotheother,andIrecognizeitwithoutasample,ase.g.Idoarightangle,bycontrastwithanarbitraryacuteorobtuseangle.

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134.Nowinthissensetherearefour(or,withwhiteandblack,six)purecolours.

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135.Anaturalhistoryofcolourswouldhavetoreportontheiroccurrenceinnature,notontheiressence.Itspropositionswouldhavetobetemporalones.

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136.Byanalogywiththeothercolours,ablackdrawingonawhitebackgroundseenthroughatransparentwhiteglasswouldhaveto

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appearunchangedasablackdrawingonawhitebackground.Fortheblackmustremainblackandthewhite,becauseitisalsothecolourofthetransparentbody,remainsunchanged.

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137.Wecouldimagineaglassthroughwhichblacklookedlikeblack,whitelikewhite,andalltheothercoloursappearedasshadesofgrey;sothatseenthroughiteverythingappearsasthoughinaphotograph.

ButwhyshouldIcallthat"whiteglass"?

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138.Thequestionis:isconstructinga'transparentwhitebody'likeconstructinga'regularbiangle'?

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139.Icanlookatabodyandperhapsseeamattwhitesurface,i.e.gettheimpressionofsuchasurface,ortheimpressionoftransparency(whetheritactuallyexistsornot).Thisimpressionmaybeproducedbythedistributionofthecolours,andwhiteandtheothercoloursarenotinvolvedinitinthesameway.

(Itookagreenpaintedleadcupolatobetranslucentgreenishglasswithoutknowingatthetimeaboutthespecialdistributionofcoloursthatproducedthisappearance.)

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140.Andwhitemayindeedoccurinthevisualimpressionofatransparentbody,forexampleasareflection,asahigh-light.I.e.iftheimpressionisperceivedastransparent,thewhitewhichweseewillsimplynotbeinterpretedasthebody'sbeingwhite.

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141.Ilookthroughatransparentglass:doesitfollowthatIdon'tseewhite?No,butIdon'tseetheglassaswhite.

Buthowdoesthiscomeabout?Itcanhappeninvariousways.Imayseethewhitewithbotheyesaslyingbehindtheglass.ButsimplyinvirtueofitspositionImayalsoseethewhiteasahigh-light(evenwhenitisn't).Andyetwe'redealingherewithseeing,notjusttakingsomethingtobesuch-and-such.Norisitatallnecessarytousebotheyesinordertoseesomethingaslyingbehindtheglass.

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142.Thevarious'colours'donotallhavethesameconnexionwiththree-dimensionalvision.

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143.Anditdoesn'tmatterwhetherweexplainthisintermsofchildhoodexperienceornot.

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144.Itmustbetheconnectionbetweenthree-dimensionality,lightandshadow.

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145.Norcanwesaythatwhiteisessentiallythepropertyofa--visual--surface.Foritisconceivablethatwhiteshouldoccurasahigh-lightorasthecolourofaflame.

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146.Abodythatisactuallytransparentcan,ofcourse,seemwhitetous;butitcannotseemwhiteandtransparent.

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147.Butweshouldnotexpressthisbysaying:whiteisnotatransparentcolour.

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148.'Transparent'couldbecomparedwith'reflecting'.

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149.Anelementofvisualspacemaybewhiteorred,butcan'tbeeithertransparentoropaque.

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150.Transparencyandreflectiononlyexistinthedimensionofdepthofavisualimage.

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151.Whycan'tamonochromaticsurfaceinthefieldofvisionbeamber-coloured?Thiscolour-wordreferstoatransparentmedium;thusifapainterpaintsaglasswithamber-colouredwineinit,youcouldcallthesurfaceofthepicturewherethisisdepicted"amber-coloured",butyoucouldnotsaythisofanyonemonochromaticelementofthissurface.

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152.Mightn'tshinyblackandmattblackhavedifferentcolour-names?

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153.Wedon'tsayofsomethingwhichlookstransparentthatitlookswhite.

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154."Can'tweimaginepeoplehavingadifferentgeometryofcolourthanwedo?"--That,ofcourse,means:Can'tweimaginepeoplewhohavecolourconceptswhichareotherthanours;andthatinturnmeans:Can'tweimaginethatpeopledonothaveourcolourconceptsandthattheyhaveconceptswhicharerelatedtooursinsuchawaythatwewouldalsowanttocallthem"colourconcepts"?

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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.

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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.

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157.Lookatyourroomlateintheeveningwhenyoucanhardlydistinguishbetweencoloursanylonger;andnowturnonthelightandpaintwhatyousawinthetwilight.Therearepicturesoflandscapesorroomsinsemi-darkness:Buthowdoyoucomparethecoloursinsuchpictureswiththoseyousawinsemi-darkness?HowdifferentthiscomparisonisfromthatoftwocoloursampleswhichIhaveinfrontofmeatthesametimeandcomparebyputtingthemsidebyside!

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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.

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159.Considerthatthingscanbereflectedinasmoothwhitesurfaceinsuchawaythattheirreflectionsseemtoliebehindthesurfaceandinacertainsenseareseenthroughit.

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160.IfIsayapieceofpaperispurewhiteandthenplacesnownexttoitanditthenappearsgrey,innormalsurroundingsandforordinarypurposesIwouldcallitwhiteandnotlightgrey.ItcouldbethatI'duseadifferentand,inacertainsense,morerefinedconceptofwhitein,say,alaboratory,(whereIsometimesalsouseamorerefinedconceptof'precise'determinationoftime).

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161.Thepuresaturatedcoloursareessentiallycharacterizedbyacertainrelativelightness.Yellow,forexample,islighterthanred.Isredlighterthanblue?Idon'tknow.

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162.Someonewhohaslearnedtheconceptofintermediarycolours,whohasmasteredthetechniqueandwhothuscanfindormixshadesofcolourthataremorewhitish,moreyellowish,morebluishthanagivenshadeandsoon,isnowaskedtopickoutortomixareddishgreen.

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163.Someonewhoisfamiliarwithreddishgreenshouldbeinapositiontoproduceacolourserieswhichstartswithredandendswithgreenandconstitutesforustooacontinuoustransitionbetweenthetwo.Wemightthendiscoverthatatthepointwhereweperhapsalwaysseethesameshadeofbrown,thispersonsometimesseesbrownandsometimesreddishgreen.Itmaybe,forexample,thathecandifferentiatebetweenthecoloursoftwochemicalcompoundsthatseemtoustobethesamecolour,andhecallsone"abrown"andtheother"reddishgreen".

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164.Inordertodescribethephenomenonofred-greencolour-blindness,Ineedonlysaywhatsomeonewhoisred-greencolourblindcannotlearn;butnowinordertodescribethe'phenomenaofnormalvision'Iwouldhavetoenumeratethethingswecando.

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165.Someonewhodescribesthe'phenomenaofcolour-blindness'describesonlythewaysinwhichthecolour-blindpersondeviatesfromthenormal,nothisvisioningeneral.

Butcouldn'tshealsodescribethewaysinwhichnormalvisiondeviatesfromtotalblindness?Wemightask:whowouldlearnfromthis?CansomeoneteachmethatIseeatree?

Andwhatisa'tree',andwhatis'seeing'?

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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

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not:"Thesightedpersondistinguishesagreenapplefromaredone."For

whatare'red'and'green'?

Marginalnote:"Thesightedpersondistinguishesanapplethatappearsredtohimfromonewhichappearsgreen."

Butcan'tIsay"Idistinguishthiskindofapplefromthiskind"(whilepointingtoaredappleandagreenone)?

Butwhatifsomeonepointsattwoapplesthatseemtometobeexactlyalikeandsaysthat?!Ontheotherhandhecouldsaytome"Bothofthemlookexactlyaliketoyou,soyoumightconfusethem;butIseeadifferenceandIcanrecognizeeachofthemanytime."Thatcanbetestedandconfirmed.

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167.WhatistheexperiencethatteachesmethatIdifferentiatebetweenredandgreen?

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168.Psychologydescribesthephenomenaofseeing.Forwhomdoesitdescribethem?Whatignorancecanthisdescriptioneliminate?

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169.Ifasightedpersonhadneverheardofablindperson,couldn'twedescribethebehaviouroftheblindpersontohim?

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170.Icansay:"Thecolour-blindpersoncannotdistinguishbetweenagreenappleandaredone"andthatcanbedemonstrated.ButcanIsay"Icandistinguishbetweenagreenappleandaredone"?Well,perhapsbythetaste.Butstill,forexample,"Icandistinguishanapplethatyoucall

'green'fromonethatyoucall'red',thereforeIamnotcolour-blind".

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171.Thispieceofpapervariesinlightnessfromplacetoplace,butdoesitlookgreytomeinthedarkerplaces?Theshadowthatmyhandcastsisinpartgrey.Iseethepartsofthepaperthatarefartherawayfromthelightdarkerbutstillwhite,eventhoughIwouldhavetomixagreytopaintit.Isn'tthissimilartothefactthatweoftenseeadistantobjectmerelyasdistantandnotassmaller?Thuswecannotsay"Inoticethathelookssmaller,andIconcludefromthatthatheisfartheraway",butratherInoticethatheisfartheraway,withoutbeingabletosayhowInoticeit.

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172.Theimpressionofacolouredtransparentmediumisthatsomethingisbehindthemedium.Thusifwehaveathoroughlymonochromaticvisualimage,itcannotbeoneoftransparency.

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173.Somethingwhitebehindacolouredtransparentmediumappearsinthecolourofthemedium,somethingblackappearsblack.Accordingtothisruleablackdrawingonwhitepaperbehindawhitetransparentmediummustappearasthoughitwerebehindacolourlessmedium.

That1wasnotapropositionofphysics,butratheraruleofthespatialinterpretationofourvisualexperience.Wecouldalsosay,itisaruleforpainters:"Ifyouwanttoportraysomethingwhitebehindsomethingthatistransparentandred,youhavetopaintitred."Ifyoupaintitwhite,itdoesn'tlookasthoughitisbehindtheredthing.

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174.Intheplaceswherethereisonlyalittlelesslightonthewhitepaperitdoesn'tseematallgrey,butalwayswhite.

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175.Thequestionis:Whatmustourvisualpicturebelikeifitistoshowusatransparentmedium?Howmust,e.g.,thecolourofthemediumappear?Speakinginphysicalterms--althoughwearenotdirectlyconcernedwiththelawsofphysicshere--everythingseenthroughagreenglassmustlookmoreorlessdarkgreen.Thelightestshadewouldbethatofthemedium.Thatwhichweseethroughitis,thus,similartoaphotograph.Nowifweapplyallthistowhiteglass,everythingshouldagainlookasthoughitwerephotographed,butinshadesrangingfromwhitetoblack.

Andifthereweresuchglass--whyshouldn'twewanttocallitwhite?Isthereanythingtobesaidagainstdoingthis;doestheanalogywithglassofothercoloursbreakdownatanypoint?

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176.Acubeofgreenglasslooksgreenwhenit'slyinginfrontofus.Theoverallimpressionisgreen;thustheoverallimpressionofthewhitecubeshouldbewhite.

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177.Wheremustthecubeappearwhiteforustobeabletocallitwhiteandtransparent?

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178.Isitbecausetherelationshipsandcontrastsbetweenwhiteandthe

othercoloursaredifferentfromthosebetweengreenandtheothercolours,thatforwhitethereisnothinganalogoustoatransparentgreenglass?

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179.Whenlightcomesthroughitredglasscastsaredlight;nowwhatwouldlightcomingthroughawhiteglasslooklike?Wouldyellowbecomewhitishinsuchalightormerelylighter?Andwouldblackbecomegreyorwoulditremainblack?

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180.Wearenotconcernedwiththefactsofphysicshereexceptinsofarastheydeterminethelawsgoverninghowthingsappear.

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181.Itisnotimmediatelyclearwhichtransparentglassweshouldsayhadthe'samecolour'asapieceofgreenpaper.

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182.Ifthepaperis,e.g.pink,sky-blueorlilacwewouldimaginetheglasstobesomewhatcloudy,butwecouldalsosupposeittobejustaratherweakreddish,etc.,clearglass.That'swhysomethingcolourlessissometimescalled

"white".

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183.Wecouldsay,thecolourofatransparentglassisthatwhichawhite

lightsourcewouldappearwhenseenthroughthatglass.

Butseenthroughacolourlessglassitappearsasuncloudywhite.

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184.Inthecinemaitisoftenpossibletoseetheeventsas'thoughtheywereoccurringbehindthescreen,asifthescreenweretransparentlikeapaneofglass.Atthesametime,however,thecolourwouldberemovedfromtheseeventsandonlywhite,greyandblackwouldcomethrough.Butwearestillnottemptedtocallitatransparent,whitepaneofglass.

How,then,wouldweseethingsthroughapaneofgreenglass?Onedifferencewould,ofcourse,bethatthegreenglasswoulddiminishthedifferencebetweenlightanddark,whiletheotheroneshouldn'thaveanyeffectuponthisdifference.Thena'greytransparent'panewouldsomewhatdiminishit.

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185.Wemightsayofapaneofgreenglassthatitgavethingsitscolour.Butdoesmy'white'panedothat?--Ifthegreenmediumgivesitscolourtothings,then,aboveall,towhitethings.

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186.Athinlayerofacolouredmediumcoloursthingsonlyweakly:howshouldathin'white'glasscolourthem?

Shallwesupposethatitdoesn'tquiteremovealltheircolour?

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187."Weshouldn'tbeabletoconceiveofwhitewaterthatispure..."Thatistosay:wecannotdescribehowsomethingwhitecouldlookclear,andthatmeans:wedon'tknowwhatdescriptionisbeingaskedforwiththesewords.

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188.Wedonotwanttofindatheoryofcolour(neitheraphysiologicalnorapsychologicalone),butratherthelogicofcolourconcepts.Andthisaccomplishesthatwhichpeoplehaveoftenunjustlyexpectedfromatheory.

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189.Explainingcolourwordsbypointingtocolouredpiecesofpaperdoesnottouchtheconceptoftransparency.Itisthisconceptthatstandsinunlikerelationstothevariouscolourconcepts.

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190.Thus,ifsomeonewantedtosaywedon'tevennoticethattheconceptsofthedifferentcoloursaresodifferent,wewouldhavetoanswerthathehadsimplypaidattentiontotheanalogy(thelikeness)betweentheseconcepts,whilethedifferenceslieintherelationstootherconcepts.[Abetterremarkonthis.]

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191.Ifapaneofgreenglassgivesthethingsbehinditagreencolour,itturnswhitetogreen,redtoblack,yellowtogreenishyellow,bluetogreenishblue.Thewhitepaneshould,therefore,makeeverythingwhitish,i.e.itshouldmakeeverythingpale;and,thenwhyshouldn'titturnblacktogrey?-Evenayellowglassmakesthingsdarker,shouldawhiteglassmakethingsdarkertoo?

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192.Everycolouredmediummakesthethingsseenthroughitdarkerinthatitswallowsuplight:Nowismywhiteglasssupposedtomakethingsdarkertoo,andmoresothethickeritis?Butitoughttoleavewhitewhite:Sothe

'whiteglass'wouldreallybeadarkglass.

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193.Ifgreenbecomeswhitishthroughit,whydoesn'tgreybecomemorewhitish,andwhydoesn'tblackthenbecomegrey?

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194.Colouredglassmustn'tmakethethingsbehinditlighter:sowhatshouldhappeninthecaseof,e.g.somethinggreen?ShouldIseeitasagrey-green?1thenhowshouldsomethinggreenbeseenthroughit?whitish-green?1

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195.Ifallthecoloursbecamewhitishthepicturewouldlosemoreandmoredepth.

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196.Greyisnotpoorlyilluminatedwhite,darkgreenisnotpoorlyilluminatedlightgreen.

Itistruethatwesay"Atnightallcatsaregrey",butthatreallymeans:wecan'tdistinguishwhatcolourtheyareandtheycouldbegrey.

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197.Whatconstitutesthedecisivedifferencebetweenwhiteandtheothercolours?Doesitlieintheasymmetryoftherelationships?Andthatisreallytosay,inthespecialpositionithasinthecolouroctohedron?Orisitrathertheunlikepositionofthecoloursvis--visdarkandlight?

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198.Whatshouldthepainterpaintifhewantstocreatetheeffectofawhite,transparentglass?

Shouldredandgreen(etc.)becomewhitish?

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199.Isn'tthedifferencesimplythateverycolouredglassshouldimpartcolourtothewhite,whilemyglassmusteitherleaveitunchangedorsimplymakeitdarker?

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200.Whiteseenthroughacolouredglassappearswiththecolouroftheglass.Thatisaruleoftheappearanceoftransparency.Sowhiteappearswhitethroughwhiteglass,i.e.asthroughuncolouredglass.

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201.Lichtenbergspeaksof'purewhite'andmeansbythatthelightestofcolours.Noonecouldsaythatofpureyellow.

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202.Itisoddtosaywhiteissolid,becauseofcourseyellowandredcanbethecoloursofsurfacestoo,andassuch,wedonotcategorially[[sic]]

differentiatethemfromwhite.

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203.Ifwehaveawhitecubewithdifferentstrengthsofilluminationonitssurfacesandlookatitthroughayellowglass,itnowlooksyellowanditssurfacesstillappeardifferentlyilluminated.Howwoulditlookthroughwhiteglass?Andhowwouldayellowcubelookthroughwhiteglass?

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204.Woulditbeasifwehadmixedwhiteorasifwehadmixedgreywithitscolours?

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205.Wouldn'titbepossibleforaglasstoleavewhite,blackandgreyunchangedandmaketherestofthecolourswhitish?Andwouldn'tthiscomeclosetobeingawhiteandtransparentglass?Theeffectwouldthenbelikeaphotographwhichstillretainedatraceofthenaturalcolours.Thedegreeofdarknessofeachcolourwouldthenhavetobepreserved,andcertainlynotdiminished.

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206.ThismuchIcanunderstand:thataphysicaltheory(suchasNewton's)cannotsolvetheproblemsthatmotivatedGoethe,evenifhehimselfdidn'tsolvethemeither.

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207.IfIlookatpureredthroughglassanditlooksgrey,hastheglass

actuallygiventhecolouragreycontent?I.e.:ordoesitonlyappearso?

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208.WhydoIfeelthatawhiteglassmustcolourblackifitcoloursanything,whileIcanacceptthefactthatyellowisswallowedupbyblack?Isn'titbecauseclearcolouredglassmustcolourwhiteaboveall,andifitdoesn'tdothatandiswhite,thenitiscloudy.

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209.Ifyoulookatalandscapeandscrewupyoureyes,thecoloursbecomelessclearandeverythingbeginstotakeonthecharacterofblackandwhite;butdoesitseemtomehereasifIsawitthroughapaneofthisorthatcolouredglass?

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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.

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212.Isthatconnectedwiththefactthatwhitegraduallyeliminatesall

contrasts,whilereddoesn't?

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213.Oneandthesamemusicalthemehasadifferentcharacterintheminorthaninthemajor,butitiscompletelywrongtospeakofthecharacteroftheminormodeingeneral.(InSchubertthemajoroftensoundsmoresorrowfulthantheminor.)

AndinthiswayIthinkthatitisworthlessandofnousewhatsoeverfortheunderstandingofpaintingtospeakofthecharacteristicsoftheindividualcolours.Whenwedoit,wearereallyonlythinkingofspecialuses.Thatgreenasthecolourofatableclothhasthis,redthateffect,doesnotallowustodrawanyconclusionsastotheireffectinapicture.

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214.Whitecancelsoutallcolours,--doesreddothistoo?

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215.Whyistherenobrownnorgreylight?Istherenowhitelighteither?Aluminousbodycanappearwhitebutneitherbrownnorgrey.

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216.Whycan'tweimagineagrey-hot?

Whycan'twethinkofitasalesserdegreeofwhite-hot?

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217.Thatsomethingwhichseemsluminouscannotalsoappeargreymust

beanindicationthatsomethingluminousandcolourlessisalwayscalled"white";thisteachesussomethingaboutourconceptofwhite.

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218.Aweakwhitelightisnotagreylight.

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219.Buttheskywhichillumineseverythingthatweseecanbegrey!AndhowdoIknowmerelybyitsappearancethatitisn'titselfluminous?

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220.Thatistosayroughly:somethingis'grey'or'white'onlyinaparticularsurrounding.

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221.IamnotsayingherewhattheGestaltpsychologistssay:thattheimpressionofwhitecomesaboutinsuchandsuchaway.Ratherthequestionisprecisely:whatistheimpressionofwhite,whatisthemeaningofthisexpression,whatisthelogicofthisconcept'white'?

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222.Forthefactthatwecannotconceiveofsomething'grey-hot'doesnotpertaintothepsychologyofcolours.

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223.Imagineweweretoldthatasubstanceburnswithagreyflame.Youdon'tknowthecoloursoftheflamesofallsubstances:sowhyshouldn't

thatbepossible?Andyetitwouldmeannothing.IfIheardsuchathing,Iwouldonlythinkthattheflamewasweaklyluminous.

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224.Whateverlooksluminousdoesnotlookgrey.Everythinggreylooksasthoughitisbeingillumined.

Thatsomethingcan'appearluminous'iscausedbythedistributionoflightnessinwhatisseen,butthereisalsosuchathingas'seeingsomethingasluminous';undercertaincircumstancesonecantakereflectedlighttobethelightfromaluminousbody.

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225.Icould,then,seesomethingnowasweaklyluminous,nowasgrey.

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226.Whatweseeasluminouswedon'tseeasgrey.Butwecancertainlyseeitaswhite.

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227.Wespeakofa'darkredlight',butnotofa'black-redlight'.

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228.Thereissuchathingastheimpressionofluminosity.

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229.Itisnotthesamethingtosay:theimpressionofwhiteorgreycomesaboutundersuchandsuchconditions(causally),andtosaythatitistheimpressionofacertaincontext(definition).(ThefirstisGestalt

psychology,thesecondlogic.)

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230.The"primaryphenomenon"(Urphnomen)is,e.g.,whatFreudthoughtherecognizedinsimplewish-fulfilmentdreams.Theprimaryphenomenonisapreconceivedideathattakespossessionofus.

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231.Ifaghostappearedtomeduringthenight,itcouldglowwithaweakwhitishlight;butifitlookedgrey,thenthelightwouldhavetoappearasthoughitcamefromsomewhereelse.

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232.Whenpsychologyspeaksofappearance,itconnectsitwithreality.Butwecanspeakofappearancealone,orweconnectappearancewithappearance.

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233.Wemightsay,thecolouroftheghostisthatwhichImustmixonthepaletteinordertopaintitaccurately.

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Buthowdowedeterminewhattheaccuratepictureis?

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234.Psychologyconnectswhatisexperiencedwithsomethingphysical,butweconnectwhatisexperiencedwithwhatisexperienced.

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235.Wecouldpaintsemi-darknessinsemi-darkness.Andthe'rightlighting'ofapicturecouldbesemi-darkness.

(Stagescene-painting.)

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236.Asmoothwhitesurfacecanreflectthings:Butwhat,then,ifwemadeamistakeandthatwhichappearedtobereflectedinsuchasurfacewerereallybehinditandseenthroughit?Wouldthesurfacethenbewhiteandtransparent?Eventhenwhatwesawwouldnotcorrespondtosomething,colouredandtransparent.

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237.Wespeakofa'blackmirror'.Butwhenitmirrors,itdarkens,ofcourse,butitdoesn'tlookblack,anditsblackdoesn't'smirch'.

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238.Whyisgreendrownedintheblack,whilewhiteisn't?

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239.Therearecolourconceptsthatonlyrefertothevisualappearanceofasurface,andtheremightbesuchasreferonlytotheappearanceoftransparentmedia,orrathertothevisualimpressionofsuchmedia.Wemightwantnottocallawhitehigh-lightonsilver,say,"white",anddifferentiateitfromthewhitecolourofasurface.Ibelievethisiswherethetalkof"transparent"lightcomesfrom.

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240.Ifwetaughtachildthecolourconceptsbypointingtocolouredflames,orcolouredtransparentbodies,thepeculiarityofwhite,greyandblackwouldshowupmoreclearly.

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241.Itiseasytoseethatnotallcolourconceptsarelogicallyofthesamekind.Itiseasytoseethedifferencebetweentheconcepts:'thecolourofgold'or'thecolourofsilver'and'yellow'or'grey'.

Butitishardtoseethatthereisasomewhatrelateddifferencebetween'white'and'red'.

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242.Milkisnotopaquebecauseitiswhite,--asifwhiteweresomethingopaque.

If'white'isaconceptwhichonlyreferstoavisualsurface,whyisn'tthereacolourconceptrelatedto'white'

thatreferstotransparentthings?

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243.Wewouldn'twanttocallamediumwhite-coloured,ifablackandwhitepattern(chessboard)appearedunchangedwhenseenthroughit,evenifthismediumchangedothercoloursintowhitishones.

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244.Greyoraweaklyilluminedorluminouswhitecaninonesensebethesamecolour,forifIpaintthelatterImayhavetomixtheformeron

thepalette.

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245.WhetherIseesomethingasgreyoraswhitecandependuponhowIseethethingsaroundmeillumined.Tomeinonecontextthecolouriswhiteinpoorlight,inanotheritisgreyingoodlight.

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246.ThebucketwhichIseeinfrontofmeisglazedgleamingwhite;Icouldn'tpossiblycallitgreyorsay"Ireallyseegrey".Butithasahighlightthatisfarlighterthantherestofitssurface,andbecauseitisroundthereisagradualtransitionfromlighttoshadow,yetwithoutthereseemingtobeachangeofcolour.

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247.Whatcolouristhebucketatthisspot?HowshouldIdecidethisquestion?

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248.Thereisindeednosuchthingasphenomenology,buttherearephenomenologicalproblems.

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249.Wewouldliketosay:whenyoumixinredyoudonotthindownthecolours,whenyoumixinwhiteyoudo.

Ontheotherhand,wedon'talwaysperceivepinkorawhitishblueasthinneddown.

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250.Canwesay:"Luminousgreyiswhite"?

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251.Thedifficultieswhichweencounterwhenwereflectaboutthenatureofcolours(thosedifficultieswhichGoethewantedtodealwiththroughhistheoryofcolour)arecontainedinthefactthatwehavenotonebutseveralrelatedconceptsofthesamenessofcolours.

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252.Thequestionis:Whatmustthevisualimagebelikeifweoughttocallitthatofacoloured,transparentmedium?Oragain:Howmustsomethinglookforittoappeartousascolouredandtransparent?Thisisnotaquestionofphysics,butitisconnectedwithphysicalquestions.

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253.Whatisthenatureofavisualimagethatwewouldcalltheimageofacolouredtransparentmedium?

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254.Thereseemtobewhatwecancall"coloursofsubstances"and"coloursofsurfaces".

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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.

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257.Try,forexample,topaintwhatyouseewhenyoucloseyoureyes!Andyetyoucanroughlydescribeit.

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258.Thinkofthecoloursofpolishedsilver,nickel,chrome,etc.orofthecolourofascratchinthesemetals.

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259.Igiveacolourthename"F"andIsayitisthecolourthatIseethere.OrperhapsIpaintmyvisualimageandthensimplysay"Iseethis".Now,whatcolourisatthisspotinmyimage?HowdoIdetermineit?Iintroduce,say,theword"cobaltblue":HowdoIfixwhat'C'is?Icouldtakeastheparadigmofthiscolourapaperorthedyeinapot.

HowdoInowdeterminethatasurface(forexample)hasthiscolour?Everythingdependsonthemethodofcomparison.

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260.Whatwecancallthe"coloured"overallimpressionofasurfaceisbynomeansakindofarithmeticalmeanofallthecoloursofthesurface.

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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.

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263.ImaginesomeonepointingtoaspotintheirisinafacebyRembrandtandsaying"thewallinmyroomshouldbepaintedthiscolour."

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264.Thefactthatwecansay"Thisspotinmyvisualfieldisgrey-green"doesnotmeanthatweknowwhattocallanexactreproductionofthisshadeofcolour.

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265.Ipainttheviewfrommywindow;oneparticularspot,determinedbyitspositioninthearchitectureofahouse,Ipaintochre.Isay"Iseethisspotinthiscolour."

ThatdoesnotmeanthatIseethecolourochreatthisspot,forthepigmentmayappearmuchlighterordarkerormorereddish(etc.)thanochre,inthesesurroundings.

Icanperhapssay"IseethisspotthewayIhavepaintedithere(withochre);butithasastronglyreddishlooktome."

Butwhatifsomeoneaskedmetogivetheexactshadeofcolourthatappearstomehere?HowshouldIdescribeitandhowshouldIdetermineit?Someonecouldaskme,forexample,toproduceacoloursample,arectangularpieceofpaperofthiscolour.Idon'tsay

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thatsuchacomparisonisutterlyuninteresting,butitshowsthatitisn'tfromtheoutsetclearhowshadesofcolouraretobecompared,andtherefore,what"samenessofcolour"meanshere.

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266.Imagineapaintingbeingcutupintosmallalmostmonochromaticbitswhicharethenusedaspiecesinapuzzle.Evenwhensuchapieceisnotmonochromatic,itshouldnotindicateanythree-dimensionalshape,butshouldappearasaflatcolour-patch.Onlytogetherwiththeotherpiecesdoesitbecomeabitofsky,ashadow,ahigh-light,aconcaveorconvexsurface,etc..

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267.Thuswemightsaythatthispuzzleshowsustheactualcoloursofthevariousspotsinthepicture.

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268.Onemightbeinclinedtobelievethatananalysisofourcolourconceptswouldleadultimatelytothecoloursofplacesinourvisualfield,whichwouldbeindependentofanyspatialorphysicalinterpretation,forheretherewouldbeneitherilluminationnorshadownorhigh-light,nortransparencynoropaqueness,etc..

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269.Somethingwhichappearstousasalightmonochromaticlinewithoutbreadthonadarkbackgroundcanlookwhitebutnotgrey(?).Aplanetcouldn'tlooklightgrey.

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270.Butwouldn'tweinterpretthepointorthelineasgreyundercertaincircumstances?(Thinkofaphotograph.)Page52

271.DoIactuallyseetheboy'shairblondinthephotograph?!--DoIseeitgrey?

DoIonlyinferthatwhateverlooksthiswayinthepicture,mustinreali