On Friday class we really didn't discuss much about identity, things were said about the question of what color is, but mostly it was just a synopsis of the previous class. At first, when starting writing this blog, I was convinced I would do it on the Gettier Problem. However, I've let my stronger questions and wonders lead the way of my writing, and ended up making a half-page rant-essay about something which has been on my mind for a long time now. So, after hearing bits and pieces of last week's philosophy class in which the concept of identity was discussed, I couldn't help but to think about the concept of color once again.
Two years ago on a Brain and Behavior class, when studying about cognition and the sense of seeing colors, we came across a topic that has, since then, bothered me quite a bit. We were on that day, discussing the different rods and cones that are part of the human eye and about how they can sense the different shades of colors. I can't remember much, however, I do remember that in the end we ended up discussing the fact that, for example, just because I know that my folder is red, and someone else says that the folder I'm holding is red, doesn't mean that both of us are actually seeing the same color. This unsettled me, because it means that we can't really know for sure if everyone sees colors in the same manner. My skin might be even green looking (in my terms) in someone else's eyes (this particular bit unsettled me the most), and it's something that I'll never know, because if asking someone else, that person will always say the color name by which I define a specific object, its supposed identity. But really, after having thought and partly discussed about this on several occasions, can we be sure anymore of what color really is? It may or may not be the same for everyone, which makes me think: even when people may believe what colors are, for me its no longer plausible to say that I "know" what color truly is. For all I know, everyone sees colors differently and behind our collective eyes the world may resemble an Andy Warhol's painting.
Two years ago on a Brain and Behavior class, when studying about cognition and the sense of seeing colors, we came across a topic that has, since then, bothered me quite a bit. We were on that day, discussing the different rods and cones that are part of the human eye and about how they can sense the different shades of colors. I can't remember much, however, I do remember that in the end we ended up discussing the fact that, for example, just because I know that my folder is red, and someone else says that the folder I'm holding is red, doesn't mean that both of us are actually seeing the same color. This unsettled me, because it means that we can't really know for sure if everyone sees colors in the same manner. My skin might be even green looking (in my terms) in someone else's eyes (this particular bit unsettled me the most), and it's something that I'll never know, because if asking someone else, that person will always say the color name by which I define a specific object, its supposed identity. But really, after having thought and partly discussed about this on several occasions, can we be sure anymore of what color really is? It may or may not be the same for everyone, which makes me think: even when people may believe what colors are, for me its no longer plausible to say that I "know" what color truly is. For all I know, everyone sees colors differently and behind our collective eyes the world may resemble an Andy Warhol's painting.
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