A history of the Senses

Robert Jütte examines our attitudes to the senses from antiquity through to the present day. He explores a wealth of different traditions, images, metaphors and ideas that have survived through time and describes how sensual impressions change the way in which we experience the world. The author shows how societies have been intrigued or unsettled by the five senses and considers whether sensual repression is characteristic of the modern world. He looks at the way in which the social world conditions our perception, and traces the ‘rediscovery’ of sensual pleasure in the twentieth century, paying attention to experiences as varied as fast food, deoderization, and extra-sensory perception. Jütte concludes by exploring technological change and cyberspace, reflecting on how developments in these fields will affect our relationship with the senses in the future.