Color

[Elizabeth Brandt]

Hi,

One of my students just posed this question in Language and Culture class.
It is sort of reminiscent of the issue of deafness and dreaming that people
speak.  Does anyone have any thoughts on this?


If color is a structural coupling between neurophysiology and culture, do
blind people have color classifications derived from cultural meanings (such
as values attached to terms like "warm," "cool," "dark," "light," etc.)?  In
other words, without seeing flames in terms of "red and yellow" but rather
in terms of "warmth," is another way of defining color created or is
blindness simply the complete absence of color?  I haven't done/read any
research on blindness so I don't know the answers but I'm curious if anyone
has any knowledge or comments about this.

Betsy Brandt

Department of Anthroplogy
Arizona State University
Box 872402
Tempe, AZ 85287-2402
(480)-965-5992 office
(480)965-7671 Fax
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