Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2003 22:01:27 -0400
From: hbone <hbone-AT-optonline.net>
Subject: Re: the sense of 'sense'


> What are the "languages of the senses"?  Can the 5-senses be
compartmentalized
> so as to produce different meaningful modalities of sense that one might
> communicate?  How does language effect the senses?  (Here I'm thinking of
> the commonplace of Eskimo's and snow, but also the possible rejection of
such
> a commonplace.)

No need to reject it.  Eskimos have more experience of snow, inhabitants of
deserts have more experience of sun, city-dwellers have more experience of
automobiles and breathing exhaust fumes.

Yes, in these examples,  language can affect the senses to some extent, but
can scarcely ease the pain of exposure.

Producing "different meaningful modalities of sense that one might
communicate", sounds interesting.

Wine experts describe wines with a vocabulary beyond my comprehension,
It is  based on sensory discrimination:  sight (color) taste and smell) more
acute than
is possible for an average person.  But the average person does not have the
profusion of experiences that make the professional's description possible.

As I meant to indicate, the communication of "ideas" whether or not they
involve significant sensory or emotional input can be difficult.

This is sometimes  because ideas addressed to another person are received by
an addressee whose  history, (produced in "personalized braincells") may be
quite different from the history of the addressor.  In Le Differend, Lyotard
discussed these problems of language in great detail.

Body language in humans and other animals covers a wide range of expression,
from glares or scowls physical abuse.

>From novels and drama to music, painting and architecture, the classic arts
have their languages and idiosyncracies.

Less varied, perhaps, are the arts of cooking,  perfumery, and personal
intimacy.