The Architecture of Color and the Encounter-Event

Language philosopher Bry Willis argues that colour is not an inherent property of objects nor a purely internal mental fabrication, but rather a unique product of the encounter between a perceiver and the world. By examining biological mechanisms and the phenomenon of metamerism, the author demonstrates how different visual architectures—ranging from humans to mantis shrimp—structure reality into diverse sensory experiences. Willis rejects traditional theories like Lockean dualism or eliminativism, proposing instead a Mediated Encounter Ontology (MEOW) where subjects and objects co-emerge during the act of perception. Ultimately, the text asserts that "redness" is a stable constraint of our specific physical scale and biological hardware, rather than an objective feature of light waves themselves. This perspective shifts the definition of realism, suggesting that our perceptions are reliable descriptions of how we interface with the environment rather than direct windows into a mind-independent world.🎨 https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/what-is-red