Behavioral and Brain Sciences



Open Peer Commentary
Palmer: Color and consciousness

The possibility of subisomorphic experiential differences


Christopher D. Viger a1
a1 Center for Cognitive Studies, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155-7059 cviger01@emerald.tufts.edu http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/mainpage.htm

Abstract

Palmer's main intuition pump, the “color machine,” greatly underestimates the complexity of a system isomorphic in color experience to humans. The neuroscientific picture of this complexity makes it clear that the brain actively produces our experiences by processes that science can investigate, thereby supporting functionalism and leaving no (color) room for a passive observer to witness subisomorphic experiential differences.