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Updated: Jun 26, 2026
14:38
Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning
Published on: November 2, 2012
Color, consciousness, and the isomorphism constraint.
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-1650, USA. palmer@cogsci.berkeley.edu
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|April 17, 2001
Summary
Exploring color perception, this study reveals that Locke's inverted spectrum argument is flawed. Objective behavioral methods cannot fully determine subjective color experience, limiting scientific explanations of consciousness.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Neuroscience
- Philosophy of Mind
Background:
- Color perception is a complex phenomenon involving brain behavior and scientific explanation.
- Locke's inverted spectrum argument questions the objective detection of subjective color experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the validity of Locke's inverted spectrum argument using current knowledge of color perception.
- To establish the limits of behavioral methods in understanding subjective conscious experience.
- To explore biologically based explanations for color experience.
Main Methods:
- Symmetry analysis of color space to evaluate color transformations.
- Generalization of behavioral detection methods for arbitrary differences in color experiences.
- Formulation of the 'isomorphism constraint' to distinguish determinable from undeterminable aspects of color experience.
Main Results:
- The literal interpretation of Locke's inverted spectrum argument regarding rainbow color reversal is shown to be unworkable.
- Certain color transformations may be detectable, contingent on the relevance of specific color categories.
- The 'isomorphism constraint' delineates the boundaries of what objective behavioral methods can ascertain about color experience.
Conclusions:
- Objective knowledge of another person's subjective experience, such as color perception, appears unattainable.
- Within-subject designs with biological interventions offer the most promising avenue for advancing consciousness research.
- The study discusses the implications for functionalism and the limitations of behavioral approaches in consciousness science.
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