A cultural history of the senses in the age of Enlightenment, 1650–1800

What did the past sound like, taste like, smell like? How did it look and feel? How did people make sense of the world through their senses? These are questions which are increasingly capturing the interest of historians. A Cultural History of the Senses delves into the sensory foundations of Western civilization, taking a comprehensive period-by-period approach, which provides a broad understanding of the life of the senses from antiquity to the modern day. The volumes treat such topics as the sensory markers of gender and class, the aesthetic dimensions of material culture, religious sensibilities, the medical uses of the senses and their representation in art and literature. These investigations bring out the sensations and values which defined experience in a particular era and shaped the world view of the time. With contributions from such prominent scholars as Peter Burke, Alain Corbin, Anthony Wallace-Hadrill and Chris Woolgar, A Cultural History of the Senses sets the stage for a vital new way of understanding the past. A Cultural History of the Senses presents an authoritative survey from ancient times to the present. This set of six volumes explores the cultural life of the senses in the West over a span of 2500 1. A Cultural History of the Senses in Antiquity , 500 BCE-500 CE 2. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Middle Ages , 500-1450 3. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Renaissance , 1450-1650 4. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Age of Enlightenment , 1650-1800 5. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Age of Empire , 1800-1920 6. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Modern Age , 1920-2000 Each volume discusses the same themes in its The Social Life of the Senses; Urban Sensations; The Senses in the Marketplace; The Senses in Religion; The Senses in Philosophy and Science; Medicine and the Senses; The Senses in Literature; Art and the Senses; and Sensory Media. This structure means that readers can either have a broad overview of a period or follow a theme through history by reading the relevant chapter in each volume. Superbly illustrated, the full six volume set combines to present the most authoritative and comprehensive survey available on the senses in history. Cover page 1 Halftitle page 2 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Contents 6 List of Illustrations 8 Series Preface 12 Editor's Acknowledgmetns 13 Introduction : Powers, Pleasures, and Perils of the Senses in the Enlightenment Era1 14 SENSIBILITY, SENTIENCE, AND THE MIND/BODY RELATION 16 AMBIGUITIES OF THE SENSES: SENSING AND FEELING TOO MUCH 20 THE USES OF THE SENSES 25 CHAPTER ONE The Social Life of the Senses: A New Approachto Eighteenth-century Politics and Public Life 34 CHAPTER TWO Urban Sensations: Motion and Commotion in Eighteenth- century Cities 54 CHAPTER THREE The Senses in the Marketplace: Coffee, Chintz, and Sofas 78 A MAGICAL NEW DRINK: COFFEE 79 THE TOUCH OF COTTON 85 A REVOLUTION IN FURNITURE 89 NEW WAYS OF MARKETING NEW GOODS 93 THE SENSES IN THE HOME 95 CHAPTER FOUR The Senses in Religion: Listening to God in the Eighteenth Century 98 INTRODUCTION 98 A NEW SPIRITUAL AESTHETIC 101 EDUCATING THE SENSES 103 METHODISM AND MUSIC 107 THE MORAVIANS: RELIGION AND TRANSGRESSION 110 CONCLUSION 118 CHAPTER FIVE The Senses in Philosophy and Science: Blindness and Insight 122 THE ENLIGHTENMENT’S “QUANTIFYING SPIRIT” 124 EXPLORING NATURAL HISTORY 128 THE ENLIGHTENMENT’S PHILOSOPHY OF MANUFACTURES 136 CONCLUSION 144 CHAPTER SIX Medicine and the Senses: The Perception of Essences 146 ENLIGHTENED PERCEPTION 148 CONSULTATION BY LETTER 153 PERCUSSION OF THE CHEST 158 PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY 162 CONCLUSION 166 CHAPTER SEVEN The Senses in Literature: Pleasures of Imagining in Poetry and Prose 168 AUGUST AND DISGUSTED SENSES (c. 1670–1740) 169 QUESTIONING VISION AND THE TURN TO DARKNESS (c . 1730–70) 175 SENSITIVITY AND SADISM (c. 1760–90) 181 SENSUAL AMBIENCE (c. 1790–1810) 185 CONCLUSION 189 CHAPTER EIGHT Art and the Senses: Experiencing the Arts in the Age of Sensibility 192 THE VISUAL ARTS 192 MUSIC 207 CHAPTER NINE Sensory Media: Communication and the Enlightenment in the Atlantic World 216 THE AUTHORITY OF AUTHORS 220 THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF PRINTING 224 DISTRIBUTION 226 READING AND HEARING 228 CONCLUSION 236 Notes 238 Bibliography 246 Notes on contributors 278 Index 281 "This volume examines the varied ways in which the senses were perceived afresh during the Enlightenment. In addition to introducing new philosophical and scientific models which sometimes upended the classic hierarchy of the senses, this period witnessed major changes in living and working habits, including urbanization, travel and exploration, the invention of new sonic and visual media, and the rise of comfort and pleasure as values that cut across a range of social classes. As this volume shows, those developments inspired a wealth of sensorily stimulating styles of design, art, music, poetry, foodstuffs, material goods, and modes of worship and entertainment. The volume also demonstrates the period's countervailing concern with managing the senses, evident in fields like natural philosophy, medicine, education, religion, and public hygiene. Finally, it explores some of the Enlightenment's desensualizing tendencies, like the separation of sensuous body from discerning mind in certain arenas of science and manufacturing, and the late eighteenth-century shift away from a politics of publicity, or intense visual and aural scrutiny, toward the secret ballot. The Cultural History of the Senses set delves into the sensory foundations of Western civilization, taking a comprehensive period-by-period approach which provides a broad understanding of the life of the senses from antiquity to the modern day. Each of the volumes explores the following topics: The Social Life of the Senses; Urban Sensations; The Senses in the Marketplace; The Senses in Religion; The Senses in Philosophy and Science; Medicine and the Senses; The Senses in Literature; The Senses in Art; and Sensory Media. Superbly illustrated, this six-volume set is the most authoritative and comprehensive historical survey of the senses available."-- Provided by publisher This volume examines the varied ways in which the senses were perceived afresh during the Enlightenment. In addition to introducing new philosophical and scientific models which sometimes upended the classic hierarchy of the senses, this period witnessed major changes in living and working habits, including urbanization, travel and exploration, the invention of new sonic and visual media, and the rise of comfort and pleasure as values that cut across a range of social classes. As this volume shows, those developments inspired a wealth of sensorially stimulating styles of design, art, music, poetry, foodstuffs, material goods and modes of worship and entertainment. The volume also demonstrates the period's countervailing concern with managing the senses, evident in fields like natural philosophy, medicine, education, religion, and public hygiene. Finally, it explores some of the Enlightenment's desensualizing tendencies, like the separation of sensuous body from discerning mind in certain arenas of science and manufacturing, and the late 18th-century shift away from a politics of publicity, or intense visual and aural scrutiny, toward the secret ballot. The Cultural History of the Senses set delves into the sensory foundations of Western civilization, taking a comprehensive period-by-period approach which provides a broad understanding of the life of the senses from antiquity to the modern day. Each of the volumes explores the following The Social Life of the Senses; Urban Sensations; The Senses in the Marketplace; The Senses in Religion; The Senses in Philosophy and Science; Medicine and the Senses; The Senses in Literature; Art and the Senses; and Sensory Media. Superbly illustrated, this six-volume set is the most authoritative and comprehensive historical survey of the senses available. "The ancient world used the senses to express an enormous range of cultural meanings. Indeed the senses were functionally significant in all aspects of ancient life, often in a way that was complex and interconnected. Antiquity was also a period where the senses were experienced vividly: cities stank, statues were brightly painted, and literature made full use of sensory imagery to create its effects. In a steeply hierarchical world, with vast differences between the landed wealthy, the poor and the slaves, the senses played a key role in establishing and maintaining boundaries between social groups; but the use of the senses in the ancient world was not static. New religions, such as Christianity, developed their own way of using the senses, acquiring unique forms of sensory-related symbolism in processes which were slow and often contested. The aim of this volume is to provide an overview of these structures and developments, and to show how their study can yield a more nuanced understanding of the ancient world. The Cultural History of the Senses set delves into the sensory foundations of Western civilization, taking a comprehensive period-by-period approach which provides a broad understanding of the life of the senses from antiquity to the modern day. Each of the volumes explores the following topics: The Social Life of the Senses; Urban Sensations; The Senses in the Marketplace; The Senses in Religion; The Senses in Philosophy and Science; Medicine and the Senses; The Senses in Literature; The Senses in Art; and Sensory Media. Superbly illustrated, this six-volume set is the most authoritative and comprehensive historical survey of the senses available"-- Provided by publisher "The Cultural History of the Senses set delves into the sensory foundations of Western civilization, taking a comprehensive period-by-period approach which provides a broad understanding of the life of the senses from antiquity to the modern day. Each of the volumes explores the following topics: The Social Life of the Senses; Urban Sensations; The Senses in the Marketplace; The Senses in Religion; The Senses in Philosophy and Science; Medicine and the Senses; The Senses in Literature; Art and the Senses; and Sensory Media. Superbly illustrated, this six-volume set is the most authoritative and comprehensive historical survey of the senses available."--Page 4 of cover