The psychological characteristics of the five senses in general, omitting those which properly belong to physiological inquiries, may be summed up as follows: The proper function of each and all of them is a sensation, or affection of the nervous organism as animated; which affection, however, does not, and in all probability cannot, exist in … Continue reading The psychological characteristics of the five senses
Tag: sensation
The object of touch proper has no special name
Touch, however, differs in some remarkable particulars from the other senses. There is no distinct organ appropriated to the tactual sensations alone; and the various parts of the body by which these may be communicated may also be the instruments of other classes of sensations, all of which have been confounded under the general name … Continue reading The object of touch proper has no special name
The pleasure derived from music is mainly intellectual
In Hearing, the functions of sensation and perception are perhaps more nearly balanced than in any other of the senses. The subjective character of various sounds, as sources of pleasure or pain to the hearer, maybe contrasted with their objective character, as resembling or differing from each other; and as in the latter relation this … Continue reading The pleasure derived from music is mainly intellectual
Taste, like smell, is thus a modification of touch
The principal characteristics of the sense of Smell are common to that of Taste also. The two senses resemble each other in being both powerful as instruments of feeling, and proportionally weak as sources of information. Tastes, like smells, admit of hardly any classification, except in respect of their relation to the sensitive organism, as … Continue reading Taste, like smell, is thus a modification of touch
The true object of smell is to be found in the odorous particles
In Smell, as in the other senses, it is necessary to distinguish between the sensation itself and its object, which, in ordinary language, are not unfrequently confounded together. Thus we speak of the organ of smell, and of the smell of a rose, using the same term indifferently to signify the act of inhaling an … Continue reading The true object of smell is to be found in the odorous particles
The stronger the sensation, the weaker the perception
Perception is sometimes defined as “ the knowledge we obtain, by means of our sensations, of the qualities of matter.” This definition may be admitted, if matter is understood as including our own bodily organism, as well as the extra-organic objects to which it is related. The former is the only kind of matter that … Continue reading The stronger the sensation, the weaker the perception
Perception proper is the consciousness of the existence of our body
Sensation, in its most general acceptation, is sometimes used to signify the whole of that portion of considerable misunderstanding. Etymologically, the term should denote a turning lack of the mind upon an object previously existing, so that the existence of a state of consciousness is distinct from the reflection on that state. In this sense, … Continue reading Perception proper is the consciousness of the existence of our body
The Matter of intuitive consciousness
Space and time are known to us as formal conditions of consciousness; whether they are anything more than such conditions is a question which at present we have no means of answering. The laws of consciousness must be primarily manifested as binding upon the conscious mind. As such, they necessarily accompany every manifestation of consciousness; … Continue reading The Matter of intuitive consciousness
Phenomenon of Consciousness (14)
Consciousness, instead of being essential to living bodies, is never even persistent in any living body. It is invariably an intermittent or periodic phenomenon and any tendency toward persistence is generally, if not always, detrimental or destructive to the organism. The average period of consciousness of living animals is about twelve hours, followed normally by … Continue reading Phenomenon of Consciousness (14)
Phenomenon of Consciousness (10)
The phenomenon of consciousness has already been defined as the cognition or knowledge of the existence of self and of the Universe. The word also defines, as previously stated, a certain state or condition of the brain, in which the brain has this power of cognition of self-existence and of other simultaneous cognitions. This phenomenon … Continue reading Phenomenon of Consciousness (10)