Citation

Saunders BA, van Brakel J. Behav. Brain Sci. 1997; 20(2): 167-79; discussion 179-228.

Affiliation

Centre for Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Leuven, Belgium. pop00127@cc5.kuleuven.ac.be

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Cambridge University Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10096997

Abstract

In this target article the following hypotheses are discussed: (1) Colour is autonomous: a perceptuolinguistic and behavioural universal. (2) It is completely described by three independent attributes: hue, brightness, and saturation: (3) Phenomenologically and psychophysically there are four unique hues: red, green, blue, and yellow; (4) The unique hues are underpinned by two opponent psychophysical and/or neuronal channels: red/green, blue/yellow. The relevant literature is reviewed. We conclude: (i) Psychophysics and neurophysiology fail to set nontrivial constraints on colour categorization. (ii) Linguistic evidence provides no grounds for the universality of basic colour categories. (iii) Neither the opponent hues red/green, blue/yellow nor hue, brightness, and saturation are intrinsic to a universal concept of colour. (iv) Colour is not autonomous.

Language: en