how do we know if we perceive colours the same way?
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We can’t possibly know if my experience of seeing (say) red is the same as it is for you.
However, one thing we do know is that everyone in the world (with normal color vision) says that red is similar to orange. And that orange is similar to both red and yellow. And that reddish oranges look more similar to red, and yellowish oranges look more like yellow.
We also know that everyone can point to a reddish color that is not at all yellowish and not at all bluish (it is *unmixed*). This color is “primary red”. Everyone has these primaries, and they are always red, yellow, and blue (edit: and green). In contrast, purple looks somewhat reddish and somewhat bluish to everyone, and you won’t find anyone who considers purple a primary color (in that it is only purplish and not at all bluish, reddish, or any other color).
In short, we know that everyone’s color perception is *structured* the same way, using the same color space with the same overall geometry. We just don’t know if the subjective experience associated with each point in the color space is the same.
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