Full Idea
Theories that tie colours to features of light radiation deal with radiant and diffused colours, but yield implausible results for objects; tomatoes are not red, on such a view, but merely reflect red light.
Gist of Idea
Treating colour as light radiation has the implausible result that tomatoes are not red
Source
John Heil (From an Ontological Point of View [2003], 17.4)
Book Reference
Heil,John: 'From an Ontological Point of View' [OUP 2005], p.201
A Reaction
I see absolutely no problem with the philosophical denial that tomatoes are actually red, while continuing to use 'red' of tomatoes in the normal way. When we analyse our processes of knowledge acquisition, we must give up 'common sense'.