Sensing the Social

The mystery of the senses is as much in the ‘objects’ of sensation as in their mechanism. A theory of the senses influences a theory of objects. The sense organs do not perceive the objects per se but only qualities. If this is the case, how can we understand the long held suspicion towards collective and social ontology?

In this talk, the keynote speaker will explore some ideas on the ontology of the social and relate it to the metaphysics of the senses in order to make the argument that cultural practices are not only based on an implicit ontology of the social but also on the belief that the social is sensorially accessible. The senses not only access the social but perception itself is fundamentally social in character. He will use the example of touch and the idea of social touch to illustrate this possibility of sensing the social.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Sundar Sarukkai works primarily in the philosophy of the natural and the social sciences. His books include Translating the World: Science and Language (2002), The Social Life of Democracy (2022), Following a Prayer (2023), as well as two books co-authored with Gopal Guru titled The Cracked Mirror: An Indian Debate on Experience (2012) and Theory and Experience, Caste, and the Everyday Social (2019).

This event serves as one of the keynote lectures for the Centre for Sensory Studies Conference Uncommon Senses V.