Resumen de Iro: A phenomenology of color and desire
This essay is a phenomenological analysis of the meanings expressed by the character 色 ( Jp. iro/shiki, Ch. sè). They include “color,” “love,” “eroticism,” “sensuous beauty,” and even “phenomenon.” Is this overlap fortuitous, or can we reach a deep insight on these apparently disparate elements by reflecting on 色? Does the East Asian approach to color qua desire reveal something essential about both color and desire, heavily downplayed within European philosophy? I will address this phenomenological issue through five sections. First, we will consider Husserl’s description of plena and Merleau-Ponty’s reflection on sexuality as metaphysics; then, the role of color as a paradigm for emotion in Japanese aesthetics will be addressed.
Both these discourses will offer a new perspective on the Heart Sutra’s equation of 色 and “emptiness” (空). We will argue how and why Goethe’s theory of color shows a distinct affinity with these Asian sources. Lastly, I will highlight the interplay of all these elements in Kuki Shūzō’s The Structure of Iki. Color and eroticism are ultimately connected as the pre-formal and yet transcendental disclosure of the world: central paradigms for viewing experience itself as relation and immersion
