The Principles of Psychology, Volume 2 (of 2)James, William
Science
The Principles of Psychology, Volume 2 (of 2)
James, William
Psychology
"In the sense of _feeling_ this phenomenon is less prominent,
because we get so close to the object that our sensation of it is
never incomplete. Still, examples may be adduced from this sense. On
superficially feeling of a cloth, one may confidently declare it for
velvet, whilst it is perhaps a long-haired cloth; or a person may
perhaps not be able to decide whether he has put on woolen or cotton
stockings, and, trying to ascertain this by the feeling on the skin of
the feet, he may become aware that he gets the feeling of cotton or
wool according as he thinks of the one or the other. When the feeling
in our fingers is somewhat blunted by cold, we notice many such
phenomena, being then more exposed to confound objects of touch with
one another."[102]
High authorities have doubted this power of imagination to falsify
present impressions of sense.[103] Yet it unquestionably exists.
Within the past fortnight I have been annoyed by a smell, faint but
unpleasant, in my library. My annoyance began by an escape of gas from
the furnace below stairs. This seemed to get lodged in my imagination
as a sort of standard of perception; for, several days after the
furnace had been rectified, I perceived the 'same smell' again. It
was traced this time to a new pair of India rubber shoes which had
been brought in from the shop and laid on a table. It persisted in
coming to me for several days, however, in spite of the fact that no
other member of the family or visitor noticed anything unpleasant. My
impression during part of this time was one of uncertainty whether
the smell was imaginary or real; and at last it faded out. Everyone
must be able to give instances like this from the smell-sense. When we
have paid the faithless plumber for pretending to mend our drains, the
intellect inhibits the nose from perceiving the same unaltered odor,
until perhaps several days go by. As regards the ventilation or heating
of rooms, we are apt to feel for some time as we think we ought to
feel. If we believe the ventilator is shut, we feel the room close. On
discovering it open, the oppression disappears.
An extreme instance is given in the following extract:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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