Ecological motivation for cultural and philosophical understanding of color categorization

Nankevich Alena Anvarovna ORCID: 0000-0002-4261-4460 Assistant Professor; Department of Sociology and Philosophy; Smolensk State University 214000, Russia, Smolensk region, Smolensk, Przhevalsky str., 4 alena.nankevitch@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The modern place of man in the world is being rethought from the position of ecocentrism, the transition to which occurred along with the formation of postmodernism. Within the framework of ecocentrism, man is no longer the "strong world of everything", but is recognized as a part of nature on an equal basis with other living beings ^[9]. The purpose of existence is to take care of the environment through overcoming global environmental crises and incorporation into an ecosystem that developed long before the appearance of man and evolving with him ^[10]. At the same time, culture no longer opposes nature, but acts as its organic continuation. In this regard, practical human activity, for example, urban planning, is interpreted in a different way ^[6]. An eco-oriented strategy for the development of modern cities is aimed at minimal interference and transformation of natural objects, their organic inclusion in the overall design of urban space ^[7].

Within the framework of this work, the analysis of conceptual ideas about the categorization of color as a separate cultural practice from the perspective of ecocentrism is carried out. Color categorization is understood as the distribution of shades into groups (categories) of colors and their fixation in the mind of the subject through various cultural codes. Theoretical reflection on this cultural phenomenon is interdisciplinary and finds justification in the hypothesis of linguistic relativity (E. Sepir, B. L. Wharf), the concept of cultural universalism (B. Berlin, L. Geiger, V. Gladstone, P. Kay), the concept of cultural relativism (G. Allen, F. Boas, R. V. Brown, E. H. Lenneberg, M. Pasturo), theory of language games (L. Wittgenstein), theory of prototypes (E. Roche), ecological approach to perception (J. Gibson). The systematization of the main points of view and interpretations of the color categorization process allowed us to identify three key areas in which environmental motivation manifests itself: (1) nature-centered, (2) body-oriented and (3) socio-cultural. Environmental motivation in these areas is realized through such concepts as "environment", "physicality" and "sociality", respectively. Without giving preference to any of the listed directions, it is assumed that color categorization is a complex process in which the environment, the human body and culture are involved to varying degrees as the main factors determining the content and structure of color categories. In particular, the environment provides material for the categorization of color; physicality sets the ways of perceiving colors and their cognitive processing; culture ensures the inclusion of acquired knowledge in a set of cultural practices, in the context of which cultural meanings and connotations attributed to color categories are developed.

The nature-centric direction

Within the framework of the naturocentric direction, the environment appears to be an active substance that determines the classes of shades (categories of color) that a person includes in his activities. This thesis is supported by the fact that color is of great importance in describing and remembering natural landscapes. On the contrary, in anthropogenic landscapes, the geometric shape of objects, which are characterized by polychrome diversity, is of greater importance ^[5]. At the same time, building an anthropogenic environment from artifacts, a person copies nature and uses the most accessible natural materials. As a result, natural colors enter culture and language and become categories of color, through which the description of the environment takes place, as well as the accumulation and transmission of knowledge about the chromatic characteristics of objects. The categorization of color, understood in this way, is reflected in the first definition proposed by G. K. Konklin ^[15]. He understands by color categorization the cultural classification of environmental shades based on a prototype (a real-world object). This understanding of color categorization is influenced by the non-classical theory of categorization, the main ideas of which are presented in the works of E. Roche and L. Wittgenstein.

According to L. Wittgenstein, the elements of a category do not form strictly limited classes and are not equal to each other in terms of a set of characteristic features. Rather, they are grouped according to the principle of "family similarity" in the process of language play. As a result, the categories obtained in this way consist of an arbitrary set of elements that correspond to their category to varying degrees, and do not have clear boundaries ^[3].

Experimental confirmation of L. Wittgenstein's idea was obtained in the research of E. Roche ^[20], the author of the prototype theory. Based on the analysis of the categorization of color among the aborigines of New Guinea and the results of the study of different linguistic cultures obtained by B. Berlin and P. Key ^[1], E. Roche concluded that belonging to a category is determined by similarity with its best representative (prototype). It represents an object in the environment, is directly related to a language sign, and its image is the first to appear in a person's mind when pronouncing a word. According to E. Roche, the prototype is distributed in different ways at the intra-cultural and intercultural levels of communication, which is due to its contextual variability.

Similarly, the ecological motivation of the cultural organization of color categories is also presented in the concept of the usefulness of color ^[16]. According to its authors, the central shades of color categories optimally represent behaviorally significant natural classes of objects. At the same time, the popularity of the blue-green category in different cultures is determined by the predominance of "warm" shades of color in the environment, that is, the practical significance of separating "cold" blue and green shades is lower compared to "warm" ones.

The environment as a leading factor in the categorization of color is understood in this way not only in linguistics, philosophy and psychology. Its dominant character is emphasized by cultural scientists, designers and architects [see e.g.: 6, 8, 17] and is reflected in various variants of the "professional" categorization of color.

Body-oriented direction

The physicality and sociality of a person as factors of color categorization became the subject of active research after the publication of V. Gladstone's work ^{[18, p. 26]} devoted to the study of the Homeric epic. Based on the main provisions of Lamarck's theory, the researcher concluded that the use of color meanings is completely correlated with the color-distinguishing ability of a person, therefore Homer and his contemporaries distinguished black and white well, but had difficulty perceiving mixed and prismatic colors. The indicated imperfection of color perception was eliminated as the methods of color-related activities developed. The acquired skills of more detailed categorization of shades have led to a modern system of color designations and the development of a more subtle color perception.

The analysis of ancient texts continued by L. Geiger ^{[18, p. 43]} revealed "Homeric flaws" in them, which prompted the German philologist to create the first periodization of the appearance of color categories. L. Geiger believed that, regardless of cultural differences, the categories of color developed according to the "rainbow" scheme: from red to purple.

Subsequent studies of primitive cultures and the cognitive abilities of their representatives refuted V. Gladstone's assumption about the color blindness of the ancient Greeks and proved the stability of the color-distinguishing function of the human visual system in previous millennia. At the same time, the attempt to periodize the categories of color received its new realization in the research of P. Kay and B. Berlin ^[1].

According to anthropologists, the categories of color are cultural universals, the process of which is limited by the psychophysical "bulge" of some shades. In this regard, those categories of color that the human eye is best able to distinguish are presented in more detail in natural language – for example, the category of purple. Anthropologists have also found that, despite the linguistic diversity and originality of the color vocabulary of a particular culture, the focal area of the color category has a relatively common character among different cultures.

At the same time, the change of seasons and lighting conditions in the first years of life after the birth of a person are important for the categorization of color. For example, it has been found that in summer the proportion of green in the environment increases, which leads to a seasonal decrease in the sensitivity of the human visual system to yellow ^{[19, 22]}.

The above-mentioned relationship between the categorization of color and changes in the environment finds theoretical justification in the concept of environmental perception by J. Gibson ^[4]. In his opinion, a person is "embedded" in the environment and actively interacts with it, therefore, color perception and, as a result, color categorization are relative in nature. The content of the color category is based on various parameters recorded by the human body, for example, such as the location of objects, light intensity, and air temperature. For this reason, it is customary to distinguish categories of warm and cold shades.

Socio-cultural direction

The categorization of color as a process determined by human sociality becomes the subject of research in the context of criticism of V. Gladstone's works. His contemporary G. Allen believes that the evolution of color meanings is not related to the physicality of a person, but reflects the degree of social appropriation of color, for example, the spread of the practice of using dyes in decorative art. According to the researcher, such color terms as "solferino" or "ecru" became known only from the moment when society emphasized their meaning in clothing. G. Allen also emphasizes that the color vocabulary of specialists involved in the production of colored things contains more lexical units ^[13].

The indicated idea is developed in their research by F. Boas, E. Sepir, B. Wharf. The functional importance of color, according to F. Boas, acts as the constitutive basis of the categories of color ^[2]. At the same time, their representation in language, according to E. Sepir, largely depends on the needs of society and its interest in a particular subject of the environment ^[21]. Absolutizing the role of linguistic symbolization of the surrounding world, B. Whorf concludes that language determines thinking and worldview, which is reflected in the traditions and norms of a particular culture, therefore, under the same geographical conditions, various ways of color categorization are fixed in the language system ^[12].

The idea of the leading role of sociality in the categorization of color can also be seen in the works of R. V. Brown and E. H. Lenneberg. The researchers suggest that there are general laws of cognitive color processing that ensure the universality of color categorization. At the same time, the variability of the linguistic representation of color categories, in their opinion, is determined by the choice of values formed by culture in certain areas of experience. Accordingly, in the separation and perception of colors, R. V. Brown and E. H. Lenneberg emphasize the leading role of the previously learned cultural model of color categorization, fixed in the recipient's mind through language, and an increase in the number of color categories means, in general, greater "accessibility" of this category for a particular culture ^[14].

Without revealing the reasons for the universality of color categories, M. Pasturo also agrees with the periodization of the appearance of color categories proposed by B. Berlin and P. Key, pointing to the primacy of the categories of red, white and black. According to M. Pasturo, the importance and prevalence of the designated triad in culture does not indicate that a person does not notice other colors that are abundantly represented in the environment. According to M. Pasturo, categories of color as cultural universals are formed only through the inclusion of certain colors in cultural practices, in the process of which these colors are endowed with authentic cultural meanings and meanings ^[11].

Conclusion

Summing up, it should be noted that the understanding of color categorization occurs in the context of discussing the problem of distinguishing between natural (physical, material) and cultural (ideal) principles that make up the biosocial essence of a person. The ecocentric interpretation of man as part of the ecosystem of the entire planet emphasizes the role of nature in his existence. With regard to the categorization of color, the indicated thesis is revealed through environmental motivation, which manifests itself in three directions: nature-centered, body-oriented and sociocultural.

The nature-centric direction is based on the definition of the environment as the dominant force guiding the process of color categorization through the natural organization of shades into groups of natural colors. People passively perceive these natural categories and further endow them with cultural meanings.

In the body–oriented direction, the adaptive property of the human body to environmental changes is emphasized, therefore, the variability of color categories is determined, on the one hand, by the interaction of consciousness and the human body as inextricably linked entities, on the other - by changes in the physical environment that cause the indicated interaction.

The socio-cultural direction considers a person as an active subject of categorization. Through the inclusion of color in various social practices, it is alienated from the natural world and introduced to the cultural space, where society emphasizes the functional importance of color and gives it some new meanings.