‘BASIC COLOUR CATEGORIES’ IN THE LANGUAGE-GAME PERSPECTIVE

In this paper the author discusses some interesting philosophical questions bound to colour science, in its variant founded by Berlin and Kay’s linguistic and anthropological research. First he refers to various criticisms, expressed by dissenting scientists. Further criticisms implied by rather philosophical perspective follow; a particular attention is paid to the question of synchronicity vs. diachronicity. The controversy about Berlin and Kay’s conception is paralleled by the development of Wittgenstein’s views on colour that the author sketched in short. Wittgenstein’s philosophy offers tools for illuminating the problem from yet another point of view. In the final part of the paper, the author try to point to the limits of the conception of basic colour categories, but also to assess its relevance and possible philosophical contribution in terms of language games variety; especially with respect to the Colour Incompatibility Theorem and its implications.