The Sixth Sense... a psychological misfit (revised -6th edition)

artist rendition of a genie and lamp

An empirical approach to understanding the sixth sense

(6th edition - May 2008) by A.O. Kime
a conditional 'free-to-reprint' article (see below)

While the uncanny human ability to sense certain things was first called the 'sixth sense' around 1837, this strange phenomenon was only recognized, never explained. Beyond the scope of science and unaddressed by religions, we can only defer to the spiritual-minded. After all, only this free-wheeling empirical mindset can see beyond entrenched positions.

While this phenomenon is real enough, what the sixth sense entails and what it all means is where lies the bone of contention... of divergent concepts. Yet, this is true about all things metaphysical, whether it is the human soul or our subconscious mind. Even so, since the dawn of time, man has wanted to give them names. Probably the first to be named was the Creator. Later, when people began to believe guardian angels, spirits, the muse, hell, demons and heaven must exist, they were also given names. After all, these concepts needed to be referenced in some manner. In the nineteenth century, when it seemed the brain had two differing functions, it was decided they should be called the conscious and subconscious mind.

The sixth sense phenomenon was one of the most recent to be labeled and, like the others, needed to be... although with a caveat soon explained. While we don’t know yet how it operates, that doesn’t matter as much that it does... and seemingly most often when it should. Of course, overriding in importance is what it all means. Understanding what the sixth sense represents would be the ultimate in Rosetta stones. It is more than merely a 'sense'.

However, we can recall a few times it failed to warn us of danger. Or maybe we didn’t listen (a significance clue). Sometimes, regardless of our fear or anxiety, we went ahead and did something anyway… sometimes we have to. Maybe we felt it worth the risk. Making a move on some guy’s girlfriend might seem worth the risk or for the thrill of skydiving, riding a bull.

While the sixth sense is more-so associated with alerting us to real danger, like a stranger lurking in the shadows, sometimes it is associated with one’s ‘gut-instinct’ when trying to choose the right course of action. More incredibly, it might be telling us not to go somewhere that day as if, somehow, it can foretell events. This phenomenal array of abilities, surely to include more, aught to be a clue the sixth sense will lead to answers concerning life itself... perhaps being at the heart of the matter. While it may prove only an aspect, an idea the makeup of an aspect is like learning an alien alphabet.

Since the sixth sense doesn’t seem associated with any physical apparatus such as eyeballs, eardrums, olfactory nerves or taste buds, the ability to sense things beyond the ability of the other five senses is supernatural. The sixth sense seems not to belong in the same category as a 'sense'... as if 'above it all'.

The sixth sense is not always reliable

The false alarms, or that we 'didn't listen', seems to indicate the sixth sense is subject to self regulation. In other words, if it represented divine guidance we would expect perfection. Being humanly regulated is what makes it 'mistake prone' whereas the other senses, animal in nature, operate flawlessly.

If to consider the sixth sense a 'sense', it is a greater one... but being more difficult to manage than the common senses we share with animals. However, since it seems related to subconsciousness, there would be at least some divine guidance (or incorporated divine apparatus) involved. This would be the part we manage (spiritually).

Whether animals have a sixth sense is uncertain, although it is often suspected they do. The belief animals can sense looming earthquakes has grown stronger since the Asian tsunami of 2004. After all, to sense the seismic waves of an earthquake seems beyond the ability of the other five senses. In any case, the sixth sense still looms larger. Actually, some animals have senses which humans don’t such as the ability of snakes to sense chemicals through their unique vomeronasal organ. And some, like bats, whales and dolphins have what is termed ‘echolocation’ and sharks have the ability to sense electrical fields generated by other fish.

Extrasensory perception instead?

Ever since the term 'sixth sense' was first coined, there has been uncertainty over what functions it should entail (publicly known for) or how the various 'aspects' should be categorized. In 1870, Sir Richard Burton thought the sixth sense should be called 'extrasensory perception' instead... but that would just confuse matters. Today, it seems the majority consider the sixth sense and extrasensory perception (ESP) as being two separate things... the former being about the ability to sense danger whereas the latter being about mental telepathy.

The reason is largely because there is no other term, scientific or otherwise, representing this ability to sense danger. But couldn't the ability to sense danger still be considered extrasensory perception? Well, it could, but then it would be harder to distinguish from mental telepathy in everyday conversations. At any rate, we don't know enough about our phenomenal (mysterious) capabilities to start categorizing. While the Buddhists decided to break it down into senses (nine), making the various aspect easier to communicate about, questionable or not, these additional 'senses' don't belong with the five organ-related senses.

Even though 'sixth' seems to suggest is is lacking a name, and perhaps an open invitation for someone to name it, it's too late for that. Far too many already believe the sixth sense means the ability to sense danger, an entrenched name... ESP being something else altogether. However, for these purposes we shall set aside the five senses and generally consider all else a single phenomenon.

The influence of science and religion

So, should the foretelling of events be considered a 'feature' of this phenomenon since it is well documented some people have this ability? Well, again, while some may be tempted to call it a feature, or perhaps call it another sense, but because this ability also seems beyond being a 'sense', we should be cautious.

The likelihood we would fail to properly categorize anything metaphysical, or likely fail to give them a representative name which doesn't tend to throw us off, is a matter of perceptions... and the common view of the spirit world, being metaphysics in effect, has undoubtedly been wrong for the past 2,500 years. The alleged meanings for these apparent existents floating around today, both scientific and religious, have assuredly thrown mankind off track. If concepts or models aren’t in the ballpark, it has the effect of distancing us even further from the truth. Since institutions don't like backtracking either makes errant tangents a one-way street.

For more than two millennia, science hasn't taken us anywhere and religions have stopped short. To get anywhere, to avoid being sidetracked or left hanging, it is better to know nothing at all of current concepts. It is why an empirical mindset often works best for metaphysical matters.

For the empirical mindset to rationalize the sixth sense one must first forget it has a name. A name has a way of boxing in a concept… in this case; the sixth sense may be a greater phenomenon that merely a ‘sense’. We must understand that these names, as apropos as they may seem, are only representations… nothing more. We can’t assume names, like ‘angels’, represent a ‘thing’ or ‘entity’ because such distinctions may not really exist, at least not in the manner humans understand distinctions. So far, ethereal distinctions have escaped us.

While each of the five senses have an identifiable range of capabilities, which we would call 'seeing', 'tasting', 'feeling', 'smelling' and, in the case of eardrums which can hear different sounds; we'd call it ‘hearing’. Yet, correctly we don’t let any particular musical tone influence our concept of ‘hearing’. In other words, we shouldn't prematurely extrapolate. So, in trying to paint this picture, it's best to leave the unknowns blurry... patience doesn't force clarity to show itself when half-dressed.

Of course, while we all know we have the ability to ‘sense’ things, just knowing it falls short. This door (into the unknown) should be opened wider otherwise restrict our imagination.

The sixth sense versus semantics... round 1

As to how the sixth sense might figure in overall is nearly impossible to explain. The difficulty of course is with semantics, the lack of terms to adequately convey metaphysical concepts. We can't even convey sensory feelings such as the smell of a baking cake or the sound of a saxophone. If only I could explain it (in words) to myself.

Of course, the other major problem is how we make our distinctions… we’ve allowed the commonly accepted distinctions to affect our overall concept. It is largely religions which have made these distinctions however, and not science. Actually it was ancient man from the Stone Age who best understood and put forth the concepts, religions just tried to explain them... but too much so (with spin included). One cannot be overly specific about the ethereal, it is a world of vagueness where distinctions, if they do exist, seemingly exist in ways humans cannot comprehend.

Besides humanly-perceived distinctions failing to paint the right picture if they aren't totally correct, there might be some completely wrong. For example, since it would be common to consider an angel a spiritual entity and ‘someone else’, we might be, through the power of our mind actually creating them all along, not merely as hallucinatory manifestations, but effectively real ones. If that were true as it seems to be, it would demonstrate just how faulty our old concept was about the spirit world. It would finally explain these 'manifestations'.

Further, the sixth sense seems more a part of the human psyche than the other five senses, being more entwined with the makeup of the mind, whereas the other five senses are more 'independent' and animal in nature. While a person can still go on living without one or more of the five senses, they wouldn't without the sixth sense... being assuredly dead. If we considered the sixth sense more as 'us', and less a tool, this different outlook should take us to an elevated path.

In the end, a human can only be a greater phenomenon than what's known. We certainly won't prove less. However, with the truth being held hostage by institutionalism, both academic and religious, we are forced to discover spiritual realities for ourselves. And the simplest things seem to hold the most clues. A tree for example or a bug.

Of course, the greatest of all accessible informational sources is divine intelligence.

A.O. Kime

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Resource Box: © A.O. Kime (2003)
A.O. Kime is the author of two books plus 70+ articles on ancient history,
spiritual phenomena, political issues, social issues and agriculture which
can be seen at http://www.matrixbookstore.biz
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"—it is also obvious that we also find our orientation based on our internal senses, we follow our suppositions, fears, inklings. We feel it when someone stands behind us even though we have not looked. We are creative, are inspired and, above all, we experience in our dreams a reality which does not correspond to the rules of the external reality that confronts us. Where do these emotions come from? What are the sources of sadness, joy, love, anger, anxiety and all the others? None of the natural sciences have been able to supply satisfactory answers to such questions." (for more of this great introduction to Carl Welkisch (1888-1984) see http://invisible.carl-welkisch.com)

Go back to (or see more) articles on metaphysical wonders (phenomena) and inkwell philosophy
For an interesting new scientific concept relating to the sixth sense, see Mindsight
For more on how current terms are affecting our concepts, see The Human Imagination... the nemesis of cognitive science

Matrix of Mnemosyne... the place of smoke signals from the spirit world

Last modified: 06/22/10