Historical Roots and Evolution

Abstract

The first description of visceral sensation, in the framework of our cultural background, can be found in the works of Greek scientists. Plato (1907) in Charmides blames some Greek physicians for not considering the unity of body and mind when healing patients. Along with many other terms in modern science, we attribute to Aristotle (1982) the concept of “sensorium commune” or common sensations, from which the notation of coenesthesia was rooted. It is most likely that Oriental cultures (the first being the Indian) had discovered and analyzed internal sensations even earlier as judged by the more than 1000-year-old practice of the yogis, who apparently managed to both perceive and even eliminate internal feelings. But it was not until the advent of modern scientific thinking that the perception of bodily phenomena became the object of examination from both psychological and physiological aspects.