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A History of the Senses: From Antiquity to Cyberspace

ISBN: 978-0-745-62957-5

October 2004

Polity

320 pages

Description
This path-breaking book examines our attitudes to the senses from antiquity through to the present day. Robert Jutte 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.

Throughout history, societies have been both intrigued or unsettled by the five senses. The author 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. He concludes by exploring technological change and cyberspace, reflecting on how developments in these fields will affect our relationship with the senses in the future.

About the Author
Robert Jutte is Head of the Robert Bosch Foundation Institute of Medicine and Professor of Modern History at Stuttgart University
Features

  • A pioneering historical study of the five senses, ranging across a range of cultures from Antiquity to the present day;
  • 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;
  • Traces the ‘rediscovery’ of sensual pleasure in the twentieth century, paying attention to experiences as varied as fast food, deoderization, and extra-sensory perception;
  • Concludes by reflecting on how technological developments will affect our relationship with the senses in the future.