Principles of External and Internal Sensible Knowledge

External Sensible Knowledge

The Object of the Senses

• Formal Object:
  • Per se (Direct): That which can be perceived by the sense.
    • Proper: Can only be perceived by one specific sense.
    • Common: Can be perceived by multiple senses.
  • Per accidens (Indirect): That which the sense does not perceive by itself, but is added by the soul to the direct object. Our senses are never wrong; this is confirmed by experience.

The Nature of the Senses

Senses are potencies or powers. They require stimulation to transition from potency to act. Senses react to the action of an object; they are passive, meaning they will not react without external activity.

1. It is a capability.
2. It is a passive potency.
3. It is neither purely material nor spiritual; senses are bodies informed by an immaterial principle, which is the soul.

The Nature of Sensation

1. Vital phenomenon: It is spontaneous and immanent.
2. Act of knowledge: Knowledge is not exclusively intellectual.
3. Relative knowledge: It depends on the relationship between subject and object.
4. Intuition: It is the immediate knowledge of a specific, present object.

Explanation of Sensation

1. The sense remains in potency while not excited.
2. The object acts according to its nature.
3. This action is not purely material; it involves substantial form.
4. The sense receives the action of the object according to its nature. Each sense has its own specific nature.
5. Once the sense has been excited, it reacts according to its nature—that is to say, it knows.

Conclusion: Sensation is the "common act of the object and of the subject."

Internal Senses

Common Sense

Functions

• Allows for the experience and comparison of diverse sensations.
• Allows for the knowledge of the direct acts of sensible knowledge.

Nature

Common sense is not a reflective or intellectual capability. It falls onto our sensation of objects and acts as the core, root, or principle of the external senses.

Imagination

Imagination is a sensible knowledge capability. Its object is not real, but imaginary. It implies:

• Conservation: The retention of images.
• Reproduction: The ability to recall or recreate images.

Estimative and Cogitative Powers

This is a knowledge capability focused on the utility or danger of perceived things. It is similar to intelligence.

The Cogitative Power

In humans, the estimative power is often referred to as the cogitative power, as it is influenced by reason.

Memory

Memory is oriented toward the past. Its formal object is the past, and its proper act is to recognize memories. In humans, memory is also significantly affected by personal experience.

Difference Between Memory and Imagination

The object of imagination is to represent something that is not present, whereas the object of memory is to recognize and situate something within the past.