From sensation to consciousness
Advances in Consciousness Research August 7, 2012 DOI: 10.1075/aicr.86.15ric (opens in new tab)
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractModern philosophy transformed the concept of sensation from a bodily, surface-level experience into an interior, mental event. The paper argues that sensation, rooted in the passive experience of "being touched," forces a passage from the external body into the inner depths of consciousness, modifying the mind and soul. Focusing on Malebranche and Condillac, it shows how both thinkers, despite differing arguments—Malebranche reworking Cartesian dualism and Condillac following Lockean anti-innatism—recognized the fundamental passivity of the sentient subject. Sensation's pervasive power helped generate a new, expanded representation of the inner space of consciousness, shifting focus from the body's surface to the mind's interior.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Argues that Malebranche and Condillac, through their accounts of sensation's passivity, reconceived the passage from bodily sensation to the interior of consciousness, enlarging the representation of inner mental space. |
Abstract
The paper deals with the transformation of sensation concept throughout modern thinking. A particularr focus is laid on the transition of sensation from the external – the body and his surface – into the inside – the depth and darkness of human consciousness. If “nothing but a body can touch and be touched” (Lucretius, De rerum natura, I, 304), it is namely in the passivity, in the stance of “being touched”, that sensation forces a passage towards the inside, the mind, the soul, and modifies it. Modern philosophy changes the way of thinking this passage, in accordance with a new concept of subject and consciousness, and with a renewed approach to the mind-body connection. Focus of the paper are the theories of Malebranche and Condillac, as, notwithstanding the basic difference of their argumentative stance, they both propose a new path for this transition. Both Malebranche, by twisting from within meaning and extent of Cartesian dualism, and Condillac, pursuing Lockean anti-innatism, acknowledge the fundamental passivity of the sentient subject. The pervasive power ascribed to sensation is instrumental in engendering a new enlarged representation of the inner space of consciousness. Keywords: sensation; passivity; inside/outside; modifications of the soul