From sensation to consciousness
Advances in Consciousness Research August 7, 2012 Monica Riccio
Modern philosophy transformed the concept of sensation from a bodily, surface-level experience into an interior, mental event. The paper argues that sensation, rooted in the passive experience of "being touched," forces a passage from the external body into the inner depths of consciousness, modifying the mind and soul. Focusing on Malebranche and Condillac, it shows how both thinkers, despite differing arguments—Malebranche reworking Cartesian dualism and Condillac following Lockean anti-innatism—recognized the fundamental passivity of the sentient subject. Sensation's pervasive power helped generate a new, expanded representation of the inner space of consciousness, shifting focus from the body's surface to the mind's interior.