A Cultural History of the Senses in the Age of Enlightenment Volume 4

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 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. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Contents List of Illustrations Series Preface Editor's Acknowledgmetns Introduction : Powers, Pleasures, and Perils of the Senses in the Enlightenment Era1 SENSIBILITY, SENTIENCE, AND THE MIND/BODY RELATION AMBIGUITIES OF THE SENSES: SENSING AND FEELING TOO MUCH THE USES OF THE SENSES CHAPTER ONE The Social Life of the Senses: A New Approachto Eighteenth-century Politics and Public Life CHAPTER TWO Urban Sensations: Motion and Commotion in Eighteenth- century Cities CHAPTER THREE The Senses in the Marketplace: Coffee, Chintz, and Sofas A MAGICAL NEW DRINK: COFFEE THE TOUCH OF COTTON A REVOLUTION IN FURNITURE NEW WAYS OF MARKETING NEW GOODS THE SENSES IN THE HOME CHAPTER FOUR The Senses in Religion: Listening to God in the Eighteenth Century INTRODUCTION A NEW SPIRITUAL AESTHETIC EDUCATING THE SENSES METHODISM AND MUSIC THE MORAVIANS: RELIGION AND TRANSGRESSION CONCLUSION CHAPTER FIVE The Senses in Philosophy and Science: Blindness and Insight THE ENLIGHTENMENT’S “QUANTIFYING SPIRIT” EXPLORING NATURAL HISTORY THE ENLIGHTENMENT’S PHILOSOPHY OF MANUFACTURES CONCLUSION CHAPTER SIX Medicine and the Senses: The Perception of Essences ENLIGHTENED PERCEPTION CONSULTATION BY LETTER PERCUSSION OF THE CHEST PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY CONCLUSION CHAPTER SEVEN The Senses in Literature: Pleasures of Imagining in Poetry and Prose AUGUST AND DISGUSTED SENSES (c. 1670–1740) QUESTIONING VISION AND THE TURN TO DARKNESS (c . 1730–70) SENSITIVITY AND SADISM (c. 1760–90) SENSUAL AMBIENCE (c. 1790–1810) CONCLUSION CHAPTER EIGHT Art and the Senses: Experiencing the Arts in the Age of Sensibility THE VISUAL ARTS MUSIC CHAPTER NINE Sensory Media: Communication and the Enlightenment in the Atlantic World THE AUTHORITY OF AUTHORS THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF PRINTING DISTRIBUTION READING AND HEARING CONCLUSION Notes Bibliography Notes on contributors Index "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. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Age of Enlightenment presents essays on 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. "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 Machine generated contents note: -- IllustrationsGeneral Editor's PrefaceIntroduction1. The Social Life of the Senses2. Urban & Rural Sensations3. Consumption and the Senses4. The Senses in Religion5. The Senses in Philosophy and Science6. Medicine and the Senses7. The Senses in Literature8. Art and the Senses9. Sensory MediaNotesBibliographyContributorsIndex.