Lightness and Brightness and Other Confusions

sequence there is a lack of common concepts defining spatial colour/light
experiences.
The relationship between the physically measurable and vision is, however,
very complicated. An epistemological discussion about colour and light concepts
have to set out from reflections on dynamics of colour and light perception
in space and on relevance of physically based concepts to human experience
of the world.
The intention of this text is to give a concise overview of epistemological considerations
about human experience and in particular about human experience
of colour and light. It will conclude in a discussion about concept formation
in the field of colour and light.
Knowledge about the world
The aim of natural science is to research, to describe, to explain and to predict
occurrences in the surrounding world. Description and interpretation has to
be supported by empirical facts originated from experiments, systematic
observations, tests, etc.
These premises have their origin from AUGUSTE COMTE 8 , the founder of positivism.
They refer to a set of epistemological perspectives that hold that the
scientific method is the best approach to uncovering the processes by which
both physical and human events occur. In Comte the firm ground of reality is
facts and arguments of reason in an implicit and never fully uncovered positive
world ruled by laws of nature. (Comte 1975, p 21)
The positivist scientific approach is based on the idea of a ‘factual’ and ‘objective’
world beyond the reach of our senses. In spite of its starting point in
empiricism the study of reality to a great extent cannot be carried out by
direct observations. Of necessity descriptions of scientific facts have to be
indirect – reached by quantifying and by measuring. Hence the scientific
‘true’ world could be described as an abstraction constructed by quantitative
values, which are interpreted from concepts belonging to the scientific worldview.
The paradigm of positivist rationality is often considered as the only
reliable basis of objective knowledge; consequently, it is no surprise that
human intuition and perception have been regarded as precarious or at least
questionable as sources of knowledge about reality.
SUSANNE K. LANGER 9 calls attention to the fact that the word intuitive is often
used in a confused way; intuition is supposed to be “without reasoning” and
8
French philosopher, 1798–1857
9
American philosopher, 1895–1985
17