Secondary Senses

Abstract

In opposition to the “theoretical senses” (Hegel) of sight and hearing, the secondary senses are touch, smell, and taste. “Secondary” refers to the minor importance these senses have held in philosophy and phenomenology, even if genetically they should be rather considered as “primary.” Leaving aside the vagueness of tactility, which is often intermingled with the sense of movement, force, and kinaesthesia, phenomenologists have mainly investigated touch from three perspectives (albeit rarely in an aesthetic context): (1) touching objects and moving; (2) apprehending tactile qualities; and (3) touching persons.