Blue Sky Thoughts: Colour, Consciousness and Reality - Softcover

Carnie, Jamie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0714531243 ISBN 13: 9780714531243

Publisher: Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd, 2007

Synopsis

Jamie Carnie argues for a new way of thinking about sensory qualities as relations. He claims that colour is determined by the way an object projects itself and challenges both the long standing Newtonian position and the simple realist belief, referencing LSD trips and zen-like realizations for a unique look at an age-old truth.

About this title

Synopsis:

Does the world stay 'lit up' with colours when we look away from it? Does a tree falling in a remote forest make a noise? Does a sweet left in its wrapper have a taste? In this challenging and controversial book, Jamie Carnie argues for a new way of thinking about sensory qualities as relations. Claiming that colour is determined by the way an object 'projects' itself towards us, Carnie challenges both the long-standing Newtonian position, that the senses are in the 'eye' of the beholder, and also the realists' belief that sensory qualities are simply properties of the objects to which we ascribe them. The resulting perspective on the world is at once familiar and yet holds many deep surprises. Referencing LSD trips and the perceptual capabilities of bees alongside Zen-like realizations on 'having no head', Carnie ultimately proposes a radically pared down conception of man's mental faculties. But what of the consequences? Can the relational theory really solve infamous problems such as how the mind is related to the physical matter of man's brain?

About the Author:

Jamie Carnie is a freelance philosopher and software engineer. He has been working in the field of colour, consciousness and reality for the last twenty-five years.

About this edition

• Publisher: Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0714531243
• ISBN 13: 9780714531243
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272