Does Colour Exist?

This is a question that has bothered me for some time since learning that all col-
ours are merely the different wavelengths of colourless light. It seems that an ob-
ject's absorption, reflection or scattering of pure light will determine it's colour.
An object that scatters light completely will be white, while an object that ab-
sorbs all light will be black. Other objects, depending on the way in which they
reflect, scatter or absorb light, could be any colour in between. Now to me, this
seems like a fundamentally important concept with important repercussions for
the everyday manner in which we think about phenomena. Most of us, when the
lights go out, are convinced that the colours of the objects that surrounded us in
the presence of a light source, are "real". That is to say, we do not doubt that the
wall of our bedroom is blue, nor that our bed coverlet is green and the curtains
yellow: it just happens that for a spell the light is turned off and we can't see
these colours. However, it would be more true to think that without a light
source, all objects cease to have any colour at all. In a universe where all the
stars suddenly went out, there would be no colour. Colour would not be a prop-
erty of objects that existed in the dark. Perhaps colour might be compared to the
fine clothes we like to display ourselves in. They are pretty, but have no real con-
nection to the man or woman beneath the clothes. The only reason why certain
objects seem to have a certain constancy of colour is due to their properties as
spatially extant things. For example, a rough, hard surface will often absorb light
in a particular way to appear more or less brown to us most of the time (trees,
furniture, wood, etc). However, the object is in no way really "brown". "Brown-
ness" is merely a temporary attribute of its appearance for as long as it interacts
with a light source. To illustrate this idea still further, certain birds, insects and
fish have eyes that are more "colour sensitive" than ours and experts insist that
some little dull brown birds, are filled with the most gorgeous colour in the eyes
of the other birds! In a similar way, scientists have also suggested that birds are
able to follow migratory patterns so exactly because they are able to physically
see the colours of the magnetic field surrounding the earth (wavelengths beyond
the perception of the human eye).
Presumably "vision" is a quality of a universe that is lit by star power. Without
stars, light wouldn't exist and nor would colour. We might further speculate, that
living organisms develop the attribute of "sight" (and eyes as physical organs) in a
universe that has been created (or has created itself) in order to be seen. If light
didn't exist, nor would eyes and no doubt we would all be eyeless and sightless as
are some creatures that live deep in the ground or deep in the sea. Of course,
without light there would also be no warmth, so only the most barren of universes
could be contemplated that didn't have "vision" as one of its attributes. Perhaps
current ideas about temperature and what is hot and cold might be totally rear-
ranged in a universe without star power. Nevertheless, this is mere speculation
and, to tell the truth, it is really impossible to imagine a universe that doesn't
possess the star power to give heat and light.