sensualism
|sen-su-al-ism|
🇺🇸
/ˈsɛnʃuəlɪzəm/
🇬🇧
/ˈsɛnʃʊəlɪzəm/
reliance on the senses (for pleasure or knowledge)
Etymology
'sensualism' originates from French, specifically the word 'sensualisme', where the root 'sensual-' ultimately comes from Latin 'sensualis' (from 'sensus') meaning 'of the senses', and the suffix '-ism' is a noun-forming suffix.
'sensualism' changed from the French word 'sensualisme', which derived from Latin 'sensualis' (from 'sensus'), and eventually became the modern English word 'sensualism' in the 18th–19th centuries.
Initially it meant 'pertaining to the senses' (something related to sensation), but over time it evolved to include the doctrinal sense 'sensations as the source of knowledge' and the moral/social sense 'the pursuit of bodily pleasures'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a philosophical doctrine that sensations are the only source of knowledge; the view that all ideas or knowledge derive from sensory experience (a form of sensationalism/empiricism).
In the history of philosophy, sensualism challenged more abstract rationalist accounts by insisting that perception is primary.
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Noun 2
devotion to or pursuit of bodily, especially sexual, pleasures; emphasis on sensual enjoyment (akin to hedonism).
Critics accused the artist of promoting sensualism in his work, focusing on physical desire rather than moral themes.
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Last updated: 2025/11/21 17:43