Single Idea 22412

[catalogued under 12. Knowledge Sources / B. Perception / 2. Qualities in Perception / d. Secondary qualities]

Full Idea

In the Lockean tradition, secondary qualities are defined as those whose instantiation in an object consists in a power or disposition of the object to produce sensory experiences in perceivers of a certain phenomenological character.

Gist of Idea

Lockean secondary qualities (unlike primaries) produce particular sensory experiences

Source

Colin McGinn (Subjective View: sec qualities and indexicals [1983], 2)

Book Reference

McGinn,Colin: 'The Subjective View' [OUP 1983], p.5


A Reaction

Primary qualities are said to lack such dispositions. Not sure about these definitions. Primaries offer no experiences? With these definitions, comparing them would be a category mistake. I take it primaries reflect reality and secondaries do not.