Spidey Senses
I have never seen the movie "The Sixth Sense", but by watching the trailer it seems like a movie about the paranormal world and I find this really interesting. Even during some of our class discussions it seems like a lot of people's perception of the sixth sense has a paranormal connection. I have never considered this definition of the sixth sense, but I also have never spent much time thinking about what the sixth sense is. I feel like people's definition of
the sixth sense is based upon their perception of previous experiences. Perhaps if I had a very powerful experience relating to sensing a ghost, then I would be more likely to form my definition of the sixth sense based upon that experience. Instead of the paranormal, the first thing that comes to mind when trying to place a finger on the sixth sense is that "gut feeling" experience. This gut feeling, intuition, instincts or whatever you choose to call it, is really important to some people, including me. I cannot really put it into words, but I tend to trust my gut feelings even though I cannot explain the rational behind it.
Perhaps an explanation can be found in the connection to our senses as David Abram describes in The Spell of The Sensuous. It is stated that the "sensing body is not a programmed machine but an active and open form, continually improvising its relation to things and the world" (Abram, 49). I think it an interesting point that Abram discusses regarding the "sensing body" and the distinction between the physical body and how we interact with the world. While we do utilize physical attributes for sensing the world such as our eyes, nose, tongue, ears, and nervous system, the way we perceive this information can be based upon previous experiences. Abram discusses the sense of perception in connection to how a spider weaves a web and I found this connection very interesting. Abram describes how the instructions for building a web are coded into a spider's genome, but there cannot be instructions for building a web that account for every challenge faced in different terrains. The spider must use it's perception to orient itself and address the situation. This spider possesses instinctual abilities to preform a task, but must also perceive the situation before taking action. I think the same concept can be applied to gut feelings. The "gut feeling" could be considered an instinctual reaction to a situation that your body senses, but the perception of other senses also plays a role in the decision. For example, you may have a gut feeling about something being dangerous, but your perception about that situation based upon prior experience could also be feeding that gut feeling without you realizing it. Your perception of the situation can then impact your reaction to that "gut feeling" sensation.
Overall, no matter what definition of the sixth sense one chooses to use, I think it is an interesting thing to look at and see how we can interact with the world outside of the main five senses.
the sixth sense is based upon their perception of previous experiences. Perhaps if I had a very powerful experience relating to sensing a ghost, then I would be more likely to form my definition of the sixth sense based upon that experience. Instead of the paranormal, the first thing that comes to mind when trying to place a finger on the sixth sense is that "gut feeling" experience. This gut feeling, intuition, instincts or whatever you choose to call it, is really important to some people, including me. I cannot really put it into words, but I tend to trust my gut feelings even though I cannot explain the rational behind it.
Perhaps an explanation can be found in the connection to our senses as David Abram describes in The Spell of The Sensuous. It is stated that the "sensing body is not a programmed machine but an active and open form, continually improvising its relation to things and the world" (Abram, 49). I think it an interesting point that Abram discusses regarding the "sensing body" and the distinction between the physical body and how we interact with the world. While we do utilize physical attributes for sensing the world such as our eyes, nose, tongue, ears, and nervous system, the way we perceive this information can be based upon previous experiences. Abram discusses the sense of perception in connection to how a spider weaves a web and I found this connection very interesting. Abram describes how the instructions for building a web are coded into a spider's genome, but there cannot be instructions for building a web that account for every challenge faced in different terrains. The spider must use it's perception to orient itself and address the situation. This spider possesses instinctual abilities to preform a task, but must also perceive the situation before taking action. I think the same concept can be applied to gut feelings. The "gut feeling" could be considered an instinctual reaction to a situation that your body senses, but the perception of other senses also plays a role in the decision. For example, you may have a gut feeling about something being dangerous, but your perception about that situation based upon prior experience could also be feeding that gut feeling without you realizing it. Your perception of the situation can then impact your reaction to that "gut feeling" sensation.Overall, no matter what definition of the sixth sense one chooses to use, I think it is an interesting thing to look at and see how we can interact with the world outside of the main five senses.
I think it's interesting that we all could have different definitions of the sixth sense because of our own personal experiences. Some might think that a gut feeling is accurate or is completely ridiculous. I, for one, agree that your gut feeling should always be followed.
ReplyDeleteI think James Margotta's idea of "the 6th sense" as a "placeholder" term suits what you're saying, since we're basically using it as a catchall term to cover any way of knowing things outside of the "normal" five senses. That said, because of the movie, we tend to associate "the sixth sense" specifically with perception of paranormal activity. However, I suppose it's arguable that we can perceive paranormal events through our regular five senses, e.g., seeing, hearing or touching a UFO, or a ghost, but since we define such things as unreal or impossible, we presume it must be some other sense through which we know them.
ReplyDelete