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Senses, Outer

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Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy

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Abstract

The Renaissance witnessed a new philosophical interest for the complex phenomenon of sense-perception which proved to be essential for the development of seventeeth and eighteenth century empiricism. Theoretical inquiries into the workings of the senses were mainly concerned with the ways in which the senses respond to reality and with their cognitive ability, which was assessed according to the degree of truthfulness of the information they provided. Following the Platonic and the Aristotelian tradition, sight and hearing were considered the noblest senses, closer than the others to the immateriality of cognitive knowledge. The Renaissance, however, witnessed also a rehabilitation of the sense of touch, increasingly seen as an essential medium between the soul and the external world.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. History Department, University College London, London, UK

    Anna Corrias

  2. The University of Queensland, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, Brisbane, Australia

    Anna Corrias

Authors
  1. Anna Corrias
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Correspondence to Anna Corrias .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Philosophy a. Cultural Heritage, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia Dept. of Philosophy a. Cultural Heritage, Venezia, Italy

    Marco Sgarbi

Section Editor information

  1. University Ca$ Foscari Venice, Venice, Italy

    Marco Sgarbi

  2. The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, UK

    Peter Mack

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Corrias, A. (2018). Senses, Outer. In: Sgarbi, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_1063-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_1063-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

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