I already know what you’re thinking, Oh God, Owen wrote a love poem about some girl. While I don’t blame you for thinking that, the title actually alludes to a thought experiment conducted by the 18th Century British philosopher, David Hume. Hume was an empiricist – this means that he was concerned with how concepts originate from experience (Britannica.com). Let me give an example to help describe this.
I assume you’re reading this on a computer, phone, or tablet. How do I know what those things are? Well, I’ve had experience with them. I’ve looked at them, held them, used them, and owned them. Therefore, the concepts (or general ideas) of a phone, tablet, and computer came from experience.
Here’s another example – let’s say you and I were in a room with nothing in it except a table. There’s nothing special about it, it’s a regular old table. Then I point at the table and ask you, “What is that?”. Well, first you’d probably think I’m the dumbest human being on the planet. But besides that, you’d most likely say, “That’s a table”. Then I ask you, “How do you know that?”. I’m no mind reader, but I think you’d say something like, “I’ve seen plenty of tables, I have one just like that in my dining room”. This is empiricism in action. In this situation, your general idea or concept about tables is derived from your experience with tables. I know this stuff is dry and boring, but it’s important to understand this before moving on. However, this begs the question, “can you have a concept of something if you’ve never had any experience of it?”. This is the foundation of Hume’s thought experiment. His experiment asks this question:
“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 the 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 colour than in any other. Now I ask, whether it is 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 conveyed to him by his senses?”
David Hume (Treatise 1. 1. 1. 10).
Let me translate this really quick, because Hume writes in old English – which is practically another language. Hume creates a situation in which all the different shades of blue (think of paint swatches) are placed before a thirty year old person (let’s call this person, Lucy) who has seen color their entire life. However, Lucy has not seen a particular shade of blue, and that particular shade of blue is missing from the collection of shades in front of her. Hume then asks, is Lucy able to provide this missing shade of blue, even though she has never seen it before? (Treatise, 1. 1. 1. 10). If you want to read the entire Treatise, you can get it here. (You might be able to find it online).
So, do you think Lucy would be able to imagine this shade of blue? First I’ll tell you what Hume thinks. Hume thinks that yes, Lucy would be able to conjure up the missing shade of blue in their mind. Hume even expresses that this may be evidence that ideas/concepts may not always be derived from experience (Skinner, askaphilosopher.com). Yes, he is technically contradicting himself – but that is a discussion for another time.
Personally, I think Lucy would be able to imagine this shade of blue. By having enough experience with the color blue itself, I believe she would be able to use that experience to draw conclusions and formulate an image of the missing shade. Let’s go back to the table example.
We’re standing in the empty room again, but this time there is nothing in it. I ask you this time, “Have you ever seen a table made of Swiss cheese?”. You’d probably say no. Then I ask you, “Can you picture what a table made of Swiss cheese looks like?”. You’d probably say yes. You’d mention that the table has four legs – and depending on what type of table, a rectangular, square, or maybe circular top. Maybe you’d even mention that one of the legs is a tiny bit shorter, so you have to put a book under that leg to keep the table from rocking.
My point here, is that you’d be able to conjure up a pretty vivid image of the object that you’ve had no previous experience with. However, you’ve had previous experience with tables and Swiss cheese. Therefore, you can draw conclusions of this Swiss cheese table based on your other experiences with both. The same goes for Lucy looking at the shades of blue. She has seen all the shades of blue in front of her before. But this gap between two shades (the missing one), she hasn’t. But, she’d be able to imagine this shade based off her experience with the characteristics and properties of other shades of blue.
This thought experiment by Hume is a pretty fun situation to think about. However, I’m more interested to hear about what you guys think. Let me know in the comments if ya’ll think the person would be able to see the missing shade of blue or not. I can’t wait to see how different people perceive this experiment. Until then, stay curious!
– Owen