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supersensible

supersensible

9.9
You cannot see, hear, touch, smell or taste
  • adjective
  • /ˌsuːpərˈsɛnsəbl/
  • Formal
translation icon : supersensible
  • The concept of supersensible entities challenges our understanding of reality, as they exist beyond ordinary perception.
  • supersensible perception

Examples

  • Some philosophers believe that certain aspects of the universe are supersensible and cannot be detected by our physical senses.

  • This is at least part of what Steiner means by "supersensible" or "clairvoyant" perception (taking "clairvoyance" broadly to include what is no consciousness—it cannot arise until the fourth phase).

    Academic text (1991)
  • Classification, moreover, raises questions central to Peirce's philosophy and, indeed, to any theoretical project that explains the world in terms of supersensible structures.

    Academic text (1994)
  • That is, he said that supersensible perception allows one to see the influx into individual beings of spiritual influences, which originate ultimately in the divine reality.

    Academic text (1991)
  • On the basis of this assumption, Steiner can assume that supersensible perception and sense-free thinking can almost perfectly reflect the truth about reality, and that they can be virtually free of distortions introduced by individual, sexual, racial, religious, and species-wide biases.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Against those who suggested that at least some of his so-called supersensible perceptions might in fact be hallucinations, he declared that he could clearly tell the difference between objective realities and products of his own imagination (1972, 280).

    Academic text (1991)
  • After a thirty-year search for a subject who convincingly exhibited the kind of special consciousness that produced reliable knowledge of the supersensible, James settled on one candidate, Mrs. Piper, as his "white crow," and, in Essays in Psychical Research (1986), concluded undramatically:

    Academic text (1991)
  • We cannot know supersensible objects—objects transcending all sensory experience—including, most importantly, the human soul and God (though we inevitably think these concepts for purely practical purposes).

    Academic text (2008)
  • Many spiritual traditions claim to access supersensible realms that offer insights beyond typical sensory experiences.

Synonyms

undetectable
vssupersensible
23 6.5

Very hard or impossible to notice

is specifically about being beyond what ordinary senses can detect
imperceptible
vssupersensible
9 7.8

Very small or slight and hard to notice

is about being beyond sense perception rather than merely very small or subtle
extrasensory
vssupersensible
4 9.1

A kind of knowing that comes from beyond the normal senses

is about what lies beyond normal senses, not specific psychic faculties
indiscernible
vssupersensible
4 8.8

Hard to see, hear, or notice

is about being outside ordinary senses rather than only unclear or faint
unobservable
vssupersensible
1 8.0

Not able to be seen or noticed when you look

is broader, stressing beyond ordinary human sensory reach not just sight
impalpable
vssupersensible
1 9.3

Hard to feel or notice with your senses

focuses on being beyond human senses generally rather than touch alone
supersensuous
vssupersensible
  • Formal
9.9

Beyond what you can notice with your senses, like sight or touch

is the general word for what lies beyond ordinary human senses
suprasensual
vssupersensible
9.9

You cannot feel, see, or hear it

is the broader label for any experience outside normal sensing
supersensual
vssupersensible
  • Literature
9.9

Not able to be seen, heard, or touched and felt in a spiritual way

names the same beyond sense idea in a general way
superempirical
vssupersensible
  • Specialized
9.9

A part of reality beyond things you can see or measure

focuses on being beyond ordinary human sensory detection rather than experiment
nonobservable
vssupersensible
  • Specialized
8.4

Cannot be seen or measured directly with instruments

emphasizes being beyond ordinary human sensory perception rather than tools
unperceivable
vssupersensible
9.1

Too small, slow, or quiet for people to notice

focuses on being beyond ordinary human sensory perception rather than difficulty level
imperceivable
vssupersensible
8.4

Too small to be seen, heard, or noticed

highlights being outside ordinary human sensory perception rather than total impossibility
incognizable
vssupersensible
  • Formal
9.9

Not possible for people to know or understand

is about being beyond ordinary human sensory detection, not full unintelligibility

Antonyms

8 5.4

Able to be seen, heard, or noticed

2 3.6

Able to feel touch, temperature and pain

How Perceptible

noticeable
65 3.2
perceptible
8 5.4
subtle
276 6.0
supersensible
  • Formal
9.9

Surface Forms

supersensible positive

Morphology

supersensible = sensible (transparent) = super + sensible

The prefix 'super-' (beyond) applied to 'sensible' (perceptible) yields a predictable meaning 'beyond perception' for learners who know the parts.

Etymology

Supersensible comes from super- meaning 'above' and sensible, which is based on 'sense' meaning 'to feel or notice'. So, supersensible means something that is above what our ordinary senses can feel or notice.