ABSTRACT
It may seem obvious that by ‘sensation’ is meant any experience which people have when their senses are stimulated. In the Concept of Mind, however, Ryle has criticized the notion of sensations as applied to senses like that of sight. He maintains that there are two ordinary senses of the word ‘sensation’—one applicable to feelings such as pains and feelings of discomfort, the other applicable to the way in which people find out about things by means of touch. Of the two senses of ‘sensation’ the first may seem perspicuous. In his discussion of the second Ryle appears to be talking about the faculty of sensation. He is pointing out that one species of perception may be called ‘sensation’. Terms like ‘perception’ belong to a family of terms which may be described as epistemological—they centre round the concept of knowledge.
