Maeve Bustell
Prof. Karen Gover
Philosophical Reasoning
24 November 2017
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Hume’s Missing Shade of Blue
In the second section of his Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding entitled “Of of the origin of ideas”, David Hume introduces what has come to be a renowned problem in the field of philosophy: that of the “missing shade of blue.” He writes:
“Suppose, therefore, a person to have enjoyed his sight for thirty years, and to have become perfectly acquainted with colours of all kinds except one particular shade of blue, for instance, which it never has been his fortune to meet with. Let all the different shades of that colour, except that single one, be placed before him, descending gradually from the deepest to the lightest; it is plain that he will perceive a blank, where that shade is wanting, and will be sensible that there is a greater distance in that place between the contiguous colours than in any other. Now I ask, whether it be possible for him, from his own imagination, to supply this deficiency, and raise up to himself the idea of that particular shade, though it had never been …show more content…
To relate this to the blue “problem” - just because one has experienced various shades of blue doesn’t give any justification for the belief that another shade might exist. The upshot of this problem, though, is that people tend to nevertheless make such inferences (and seem to do so reliably). This wider epistemology could arguably “rescue” Hume from the missing shade dilemma, however; if one were to claim that they had an idea of the missing shade, but no antecedent impression of it, he may respond with a dichotomy. Which is more likely: a) that the missing shade is indeed a priori, or b) that they have seen this shade somewhere without realizing it or having forgotten that they once saw
Prof. Karen Gover
Philosophical Reasoning
24 November 2017
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Hume’s Missing Shade of Blue
In the second section of his Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding entitled “Of of the origin of ideas”, David Hume introduces what has come to be a renowned problem in the field of philosophy: that of the “missing shade of blue.” He writes:
“Suppose, therefore, a person to have enjoyed his sight for thirty years, and to have become perfectly acquainted with colours of all kinds except one particular shade of blue, for instance, which it never has been his fortune to meet with. Let all the different shades of that colour, except that single one, be placed before him, descending gradually from the deepest to the lightest; it is plain that he will perceive a blank, where that shade is wanting, and will be sensible that there is a greater distance in that place between the contiguous colours than in any other. Now I ask, whether it be possible for him, from his own imagination, to supply this deficiency, and raise up to himself the idea of that particular shade, though it had never been …show more content…
To relate this to the blue “problem” - just because one has experienced various shades of blue doesn’t give any justification for the belief that another shade might exist. The upshot of this problem, though, is that people tend to nevertheless make such inferences (and seem to do so reliably). This wider epistemology could arguably “rescue” Hume from the missing shade dilemma, however; if one were to claim that they had an idea of the missing shade, but no antecedent impression of it, he may respond with a dichotomy. Which is more likely: a) that the missing shade is indeed a priori, or b) that they have seen this shade somewhere without realizing it or having forgotten that they once saw