Quote Originally Posted by consolidation View Post
I was recently asked a straight forward question , "How many senses are there?" to which I quickly replied the 5 we all are taught :
ophthalmoception, audioception, gustaoception, olfacoception, and tactioception.

However I was especially challenged ( more than usual anyway!) when the asker threw in thermoception, proprioception, nociception, equilibrioception and kinesthesioception.

I did a quick check and saw there is quite some debate.................

....................Your thoughts or guidance are appreciated?
I don't see how this is such a tremendous debate....(?)
Thermoception - the sense by which an organism perceives the rate of temperature flux.
Proprioception - the sense of the relative position of neighboring parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement.
Nociception - triggers a variety of autonomic responses and may also result in a subjective experience of pain in sentient beings.
Equilibrioception - sense of balance.
Kineshesioception - interchangeable by and large with proprioception

The above terms seem to simply further define the sense of touch, or create a sub-group under one of the 5 senses....

Where's the mystery? Where's the debate? Unless this is just as LRM states - that it is a debate over definitions - one of semantics.

To the part I didn't quote you on, that each sense has its own dedicated organ. If a person has his eyes plucked out, he cannot see. Eyesight requires eyes.
If a person has their ears damaged enough, they cannot hear. If the body experiences enough damage that the nerve endings are destroyed, the sense of touch might be lost.

I don't see how any of the added definitions/words in this "debate" change this.....