Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Q17 A2: Whether there is falsity in the senses?

Yes, but falsity is not to be sought in the senses except as truth is in them because truth is not in them in such a way as that the senses know truth, but in so far as they apprehend sensible things truly.

This takes place through the senses apprehending things as they are, and hence it happens that falsity exists in the senses through their apprehending or judging things to be otherwise than they really are.

Falsity is said not to be proper to sense, since sense is not deceived as to its proper object.

Sense has no false knowledge about its proper objects, except accidentally and rarely, and then, because of the unsound organ it does not receive the sensible form rightly.

The affection of sense is its sensation itself. Hence, from the fact that sense reports as it is affected, it follows that we are not deceived in the judgment by which we judge that we experience sensation.

Since, however, sense is sometimes affected erroneously of that object, it follows that it sometimes reports erroneously of that object; and thus we are deceived by sense about the object, but not about the fact of sensation.