How many senses can a human have?

It doesn't take much reflection to figure out that humans possess more than the five “classical” senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Because when you start counting sense organs, you get to six right away: the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, and the vestibular system.

press.jhu.edu - How many senses do we have? - JHU Press - Johns Hopkins University

Is it healthy to do splits?

Practicing the splits is exceptional for your joint health, flexibility, and balance. These things are essential for long-term physical constitution.

Last updated Apr 7, 2018

How much is Skoove?

Recently, the company has created a version for Android devices as well, which is available on the Google Play store. Note: prices correct as of...

Last updated Sep 16, 2018

Promotion

Guest post by John M. Henshaw

Just how many senses does a human being have? If you Google this question you will find, as with just about anything else you might care to Google, a variety of answers. Some say we have seven senses, while others put the total at nine, ten, or twelve. What’s the right answer? It all depends on how you define things. Let’s first observe that all of the numbers in the paragraph above are greater than five. It doesn’t take much reflection to figure out that humans possess more than the five “classical” senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. The idea of five classical senses dates back at least to Aristotle, himself a rather classy guy. In De Anima (Of the Soul) he argues that, for every sense, there is a sense organ. So far, he’s on reasonably solid ground. It’s when he goes on to say that there can be no sixth sense, because there are only five sense organs, that he gets himself into trouble. It doesn’t take much reflection to figure out that humans possess more than the five “classical” senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Because when you start counting sense organs, you get to six right away: the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, and the vestibular system. Our understanding of the vestibular system’s role as a sense organ dates only to the early 1800s, more than two millennia after Aristotle. We now know that the vestibular system, located in the inner ear, is an integral part of how we balance ourselves, but it also plays a critical role in vision, allowing us to keep our two eyes focused on things even while our heads are moving about. So, six sense organs are quickly identified, but that doesn’t get us to nine, ten, or twelve senses. Let’s tweak Aristotle’s definition of what a sense is just a bit. Instead of a sense organ, each separate sense really only requires a different kind of sensory receptor. In the skin alone, there are at least four different kinds of sensory receptors: those for touch, temperature, pain, and proprioception (or body awareness). A sensory receptor is a specialized cell that sends electrical signals to the brain in response to the type of stimuli the cell is optimized for. The rods and cones in the retina are sensory receptors. They send signals when stimulated by light of various wavelengths and intensities. The skin is brimming over with sensory receptors optimized not only for touch, but for other things as well, such as hot and cold. There are at least six different kinds of temperature receptors, each optimized for a different temperature range. If we have six different kinds of temperature receptors, does that mean that our ability to sense hot and cold is really six different senses, and not just one? I suppose you could argue that, but what would be the point? Consider human vision.

What music do ADHD people like?

Many people with ADHD gravitate to instrumental music because it generally has a very structured rhythm that helps people focus. 3 In addition,...

Last updated Jul 18, 2022

How old are 1rst graders?

Children in first grade are usually 6 or 7 years old, and the following guidelines are aimed at children in the typical age group. Jul 21, 2020

Last updated May 4, 2019

Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Promotion

Human eyes contain four different kinds of sensory receptors: three types of cones (optimized for long, medium, and short wavelength light) and rods (optimized for low light conditions). Thus equipped, human beings can “see.” We have “vision.” But that’s only the beginning of the story. Human vision entails the ability to distinguish light from dark. For some primitive creatures, this is as far as their vision takes them. We humans can tell light from dark, we can distinguish images, we can see in color (as a result of having three types of cones), and, having two eyes, we possess stereovision. So just how many senses do our eyes afford us? One? Two? Three? Four? The conventional wisdom says we’ve got eyes, we can see, and that’s one sense. Good enough for me. The point of all this is that it is harder than it might first appear to put a definitive figure on the total number of senses that humans possess. At some point, it becomes just a bit arbitrary. So here’s my list of nine human senses, which may be a little longer, or shorter, than yours:

Vision Hearing Smell Taste Touch Balance Temperature Proprioception (body awareness) Pain

John M. Henshaw is Harry H. Rogers Professor and Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Tulsa. His books, A Tour of the Senses: How Your Brain Interprets the World, and Does Measurement Measure Up? How Numbers Reveal and Conceal the Truth, are published by JHU Press.

press.jhu.edu - How many senses do we have? - JHU Press - Johns Hopkins University

Which key is the saddest?

D minor Historically, classical composers felt that D minor was the most melancholy of the keys, suitable for lamentations, dirges and requiems....

Last updated Sep 10, 2018

What are the 3 R's in an apology?

He remembered the three R's – regret, react, reassure. Aug 18, 2014

Last updated Dec 23, 2018

Promotion

Why do Japanese say kawaii?

The word “kawaii” is derived from a phrase that means ” a radiant face” which refers to the blushing of an embarrassed person. Over time, the...

Last updated Oct 22, 2020

Join almost HALF A MILLION Happy Students Worldwide

Pianoforall is one of the most popular online piano courses online and has helped over 450,000 students around the world achieve their dream of playing beautiful piano for over a decade.

Learn More »

Promotion

What does Grade 8 singing mean?

Grade 8 is a sign that you've hit a good level of proficiency in one style of singing, but very few people who sing professionally (other than...

Last updated Oct 15, 2022