The Magic of the Senses

If you ask most people, “How many senses do we have?” they would most likely answer, "Five," those five being sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste.

It is not all about these five; however, research suggests we may have over 30 human senses.

Sensory systems can be very diverse in their specialisations. Animals detect basic signals from their surroundings, like light, motion, chemicals, and temperature. Each of these signals is detected by a different type of sensory receptor. Receptors in our ears detect sound, while those in our eyes sense light.

Aristotle (384–322 BC), a Greek scholar, was the first to list the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. He did this in his work “De Anima” more than 2,000 years ago. Things have grown considerably since then. Neurologists and scientists have noticed how simple senses combine to create new feelings.

Rudolf Steiner created his theory of the twelve human senses in the early 1900s. These were his senses:

• Touch
• Life
• Self-movement
• Balance
• Smell
• Taste
• Vision
• Temperature
• Hearing
• Language
• Concepts
• Ego

While his proposals were not widely accepted, it now seems more obvious. Scientists use fancy names to sound more important. Proprioception is body awareness. It includes feelings like itchiness. You also know when something is close, even if you can’t see it.

Maintaining balance is referred to as equilibrioception. The ability to sense whether it is cold or hot is thermoception. Pain from a fall or a blow is called nociception. There is a term for how we feel inside, like hunger or thirst: interoception.

We even have a sense of time (chronosception) and a sense of where we are (spatial orientation). I have a pretty good sense of time during the day, but I have a terrible sense of direction.

Steiner spoke on the idea of the 12-fold picture. He lost respect from other scientists when he linked his 12 human senses to the 12 months and the 12 zodiac signs.

Some of our services run automatically. You need to pause and think about these when they happen, so you can pick them up. For example, our senses pick up that our arm is itchy, and we scratch without really thinking.

We need to learn to walk on uneven surfaces without tripping or to keep our balance while lifting heavy objects. We learn these things at a young age, and they become automatic.

Others are developed through practice and experience. Kinesthesis is the sense that helps us move. It allows us to play the piano without looking at the keys or write words from memory.

The Japanese have a concept called ‘shitsukan,” which translates to “material perception.” Smell contributes heavily to how foods taste and influences flavour perception. We taste flavours like strawberry because we smell the aroma.

People have said that thicker food tastes less, even though the same amount of flavour is added. Some people think fragrant shampoo makes their hair cleaner than plain, unscented options.

It doesn’t stop there. Some eco-psychologists have said we have more than 50 senses at our disposal.

They group senses into five categories.

• Radiation (temperature, color, moods)
• Feeling (air, pressure, movement)
• Chemical, and
• Mental senses (pain, distress, friendship, sense of self)

Sensory processing happens in the brain. It translates and interprets signals from the central nervous system. Like the heart (which I wrote about last week, Matters of the Heart), it is an amazing organ; perhaps even more amazing than the heart.

As with the heart and any human organ, things can go wrong. About 1 in 20 people have sensory processing issues. For children, it's even higher—1 in 6 are affected in their daily activities.

So forget the five senses. We are far more complex than just those five. Try this simple exercise: make a cup of coffee or tea. As you do, notice the different senses you use while making and drinking it. Don’t forget to include when your body tells you that you need to pee.

Till next time,

Calvin