[lit-ideas] Re: "Colourless Objects" (Was: Wittgenstein'sUniverse)
- From: Andy Amago <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 09:09:00 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
-----Original Message-----
From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
Sent: May 20, 2004 8:15 AM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: "Colourless Objects" (Was: Wittgenstein's Universe=
)
R. Paul refutes Geary's view about the 'blue wave-length' ('lenghts are=20
_not_, let alone _blue_) and adds as per exegesis:
>By the way, there is no such thing as 'colour,' and hasn't been since 1727=
.
Aha. So, it's just a matter of a chronological index. I propose: [excuse my=
=20
Austrian accent]
"Beilaufig gesprochen: Die Gegenstande sind farblos
-- seit 1727."=20
(Wittgenstein, TLP 2.0232)
Only he possibly did not write that lest it confuse the common reader=20
(notably Russell).
Interstingly, dogs also do not perceive colours. I wonder if Wittgenstein's=
=20
message is that we are more animals than we think (we are)?
A.A. Perceiving color has nothing to do with being more or less developed.=
People who are color blind organize information differently in their brai=
ns than those who perceive color. Not better, not worse, but differently. =
Likewise the deaf from birth who learn sign language beginning in infancy,=
the way hearing infants do, organize information more spatially than heari=
ng people's brains. There is, if I remember correctly, less "left brain/ri=
ght brain" distinction. (I'm referring to Oliver Sach's book Seeing Voice=
s.) This gives signing deaf people a distinct advantage over hearing peopl=
e in some fields (such as architecture and physics I believe but I'd have t=
o dig up the book to be sure). Sachs makes the comparison that the hearing=
and the signing deaf live as if in two separate dimensions. The signing d=
eaf "hear" voices in the way we "see" voices. If there is a difference bet=
ween the hearing and the signing deaf, it is that they are a minority and t=
he world does not accommodate their uniqueness. =20
On the other hand, deaf children who are not diagnosed at birth or soon the=
reafter and do not learn sign language are *profoundly* disadvantaged, as e=
ssentially they learn no language at all. They literally live in a silent =
void unable to formulate even such concepts as "chair" and "table". Withou=
t language there is no thought, precluding the ability to communicate even =
with one's self. One of the biggest opponents of sign language, interestin=
gly, was Alexander Graham Bell, who did tremendous damage to deaf people. =
=20
Lest my point be lost, the ability to see color, as the ability to hear, is=
not necessarily a sign of a more developed brain, but simply a different b=
rain, and not necessarily a better brain.
Andy
Cheers,
JL
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