[ExI] Magenta (was Re: What is "Elemental Redness"?)

[Ben Zaiboc]

Actually, I think that Magenta might be a better example to think about 
than Red.

With 'Red', it's easy to get confused when talking, because the word 
refers to a band of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation as well as 
a set of subjective experiences associated with it, whereas Mangenta 
doesn't. There's no such thing as Magenta light. So, 'Magenta' only 
exists in our minds, not in the outside world, and we know that talking 
about Magenta is not referring to a wavelength of light that enters the 
eyes. It's a colour that we make up in our heads when we see a certain 
combination of different wavelengths.

So what is "Elemental Magenta"? Does it exist?

Another thought: Colour experiences (and all other experiences) are 
mental phenomena, aren't they? So whatever causes them in the brain, 
they actually manifest as something in the mind. So the actual 
experience of say, a colour, like Magenta, is what you might call 
'mind-stuff', not 'brain-stuff'. And we know that while brains are 
physical objects, minds are not. So all of our experiences must be 
something other than physical objects.

I'll pause there, for any objections.

Ben