Sense

As a symbol, the physiological perception of the environment is referred to as sensory organs.

The five senses of man

Classically, there are five senses, which have been described by Aristotle in general usage.

Local and remote sense

The sensory channels of the people can be divided into distant senses ( hearing and sight ) and Nahsinne (all other senses ). When damage to the remote sense is called sensory disabilities, as these senses are the most important information carriers of man. The importance of distance senses ( hearing and vision ) is also reflected by the fact that our consciousness, for example, not "on the eye sees", but that the sensation of seeing is projected from the brain out of the body, at the Nahsinnen (all other senses ), however, the sensation is directly linked to the body " you can taste on the tongue " or " smell in the nose ."

More sense

Modern physiology knows for humans, four other senses:

• Temperature sense thermoreception
• Pain sensation, nociception
• Vestibular sense, sense of balance
• Body sensation ( or proprioception ), proprioception

In addition, there are other sensory abilities, but they are not aware of or directly perceptible. In humans, about the blood pressure receptors in the throat, which provide internal control circuits for a high-quality and uniform blood supply to the body particularly the brain. In normal condition, this signal is always well compensated, but this is no longer possible, so enter disorders the overall health, such as a sudden loss of consciousness.

The esoteric Rudolf Steiner examined the perception and came up with twelve senses that he is " more physical" and divided " more spiritual " senses.

In synesthetes, there is crosstalk between sensory channels or their processing centers, so that, for example, sounds perceived as colored patterns.

In animals more sense there may be: For example, using special cells, the polarization of light or with the help of the magnetic sense the Earth's magnetic field are perceived.

The 6th sense

The term " 6 Sense "is often used when someone notices something without it (deliberately) with the known five senses perceive, sometimes in terms of" extra-sensory perception " ( psi abilities, telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition ). In common parlance, however, he is to separate conceptually from " extrasensory perception " because the " 6 Sense, " it usually is a colloquial term used to describe an everyday situation. It should be a rule made ​​no specific statement about how the perception worked (it can be so quite to unconscious perception with the normal senses to mere accidental coincidence, but also a real " extrasensory perception" in the narrow sense act ) but only that it was not obvious to explain in the given situation.

Biologists use this term, however, increasingly, in order to describe electric and magnetic sense of animals: Eels tell in the darkness of their opponents by the perception of changes in electric fields, they emit themselves; Crampfish take the bodies of their prey Electricity true; different species of snakes have a pit organ for the perception of infrared radiation; Spiders recognize by a vibration sense the slightest movement in their networks; to robins, doves and various other birds a magnetic sense has been demonstrated experimentally ( for the first time in 1967 by Wolfgang Wiltschko ). All these senses, which are now explored in more detail, have an anchor in the Biological and are nothing supernatural (more). So, scientists from Washington University in St. Louis ( USA) demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging that a specific brain region, the anterior cingulate cortex ( ACC), is an early warning system that becomes active in case of imminent danger of a wrong decision. Obviously receives this brain region located in the frontal lobe environmental signals, which are then immediately analyzed for potential dangers. If a situation can be interpreted as "dangerous", it alerts you immediately so that the individual has the opportunity to initiate a change in its current behavior. People who have escaped a dangerous situation in time in this way, this then lead like on their "6 Meaning " back.