In the Principles of the Philosophy of the Future, Ludwig Feuerbach brings to light what he calls “the sensuous.” The sensuous, unlike thinking which is the result of human rationality, is that which is felt with human feeling and emotion .
What is differing in Feuerbach’s argument is, whereas the old philosopher was in continuous opposition with the senses, the new philosopher thinks “in harmony and peace with the senses” (54), therefore uniting both thought and being.
Feuerbach wishes to differentiate the sensuous from thinking. In other words, reality that is deciphered by thought first and then perceived by sensation is a “contradiction.” If one consciously reasons about the idea first and then experiences the sensation second, then the sensation merely becomes an attribute of the idea. Yet, the sensuous should be made into its own subject, independent from thought, wherein the primary meaning of truth is not obtained from the idea. Feuerbach argues that the true and divine should not require a proof but instead should be sensed with immediate knowledge - for instance, that which speaks for itself, that is certain and straightforward. Also, it is evident that it is only through the senses that one has access to immediate knowledge, unlike rationality.
Furthermore, it is only when one is capable of passion and love does he deserve the name of being. Human beings should not exist only as thinking beings, but as sensuous beings also; in other words, heavily influenced by human blood, human instinct. That is, they should exist with their senses: perception, feeling, and love. Yet, human senses, as Feuerbach elaborates the idea, is not limited to external things only, such as hearing the sound of the waves, but it is also internal, what the human mind makes of it, in which the same sounds of the waves can be, “the soulful voice of love and wisdom” (58). Thus, he admits to the importance of empiricism, but he wishes to emphasize - especially to the old philosophers that perceive rational as the real and highest notion - that “man” is the rational, the centre of reason. He encourages human interaction, because things can only be certain if they are believed by another.
In Principles, Feuerbach reveals how the deepest and highest truths are concealed in human feeling, and thus, in man himself. In this work, his aim is to have the meaning and essence of feeling elevated to consciousness, so that one can think as a living and real being, instead of as a thinker only.
I think the definition of “sensuous” that Feuerbach gives is a bit ambiguous (I think there is a clear parallel here with Schleiermacher’s trouble finding a clear, concise definition of “feeling” while trying incorporate so many disparate ideas into one concept). Feuerbach uses the German word Sinnlichkeit, and it usually refers to sensory data, and this surely includes input from the senses like sight and smell, and perception. And he seems to base his futuristic philosophy on these types immediate unmediated responses to environment. Everything is “sensuously perceptible”(58). This is a strong claim, but I can dig it. However, then, in the very same sentence he reverses his tracks and he undermines everything by stating, everything is “not always immediately” perceptible, and here is the kicker, “yet it is perceived through mediation” (58). Mediation? Mediation! Stick to your empirical, materialist, atheistic guns, Feuerbach. Things like mediation are for old philosophy. They have no part in your Sinnlichkeit
ReplyDelete