The sociological analysis of sensory knowledge: its understanding, construction and acquisition

Abstract

The aim of this article, based on the literature review, is to explore the senses within the context of knowledge. The article begins with a description of embodied (i.e., also sensory) knowledge's marginalisation within the social sciences and the reasons for this. After indicating the most popular fields of research, the article explores three main understandings of sensory knowledge: (1) senses as a source of knowledge, (2) senses as acquired skills and (3) sensory knowledge as a result of (collective) activity. In the next part, sensory knowledge is discussed as tacit knowledge, taking into account the problem of its verbalisation and the nature of its acquisition. The last part explores the social construction of sensory knowledge and its relation to subjective experiences, referring to the concepts of intersubjectivity, objectification and legitimisation.