On the purpose of color for living beings: A new theory of color organization

Phylogenetic and paleontological evidence indicates that in the animal kingdom the ability to perceive colors evolved independently several times and has existed for at least half a billion years. This implies a high evolutionary neural investment and suggests that color vision has some fundamental and specialized functions providing biological advantages. What are these advantages? What is the purpose of color for living beings? Why are animals so colorful? What are the adaptive and perceptual meanings of polychromatism?
To answer these questions, flower and bird colorations were studied psychophysically.
On the basis of the experimental results, the answer to the question “what is the visual purpose of color?” is tripartite as follows. (i) To relate each chromatic component of an object, thus favoring the emergence of the whole object. (ii) To show a part‐whole organization where both components are not weakened but reciprocally enhanced one by virtue of the other and within the whole. (iii) To show fragments to hide the whole and favor the emergence of single components. In summary, color influences wholeness, part‐whole organization and phenomenal fragmentation. Finally, a new kind of camouflage, “Harlequin camouflage”, is proposed.