If a person is born blind, deaf, and insensitive to touch, would they know they are alive?

Question

My bad. Most readers understood how being insensitive to touch automatically makes one insensitive to taste and smell, two physical-chemical senses. I basically mean they have no sensory information coming in. Thanks for your responses.

Answer 1

Well, interesting, what exactly does it take to make someone, or something, know they are alive - whether anyone else believes it or not! I do believe it would have to be sensation, of some sort. Are ameoba's alive? Do they know it? Because they have none of the "sensations" we, as humans, have. Or, do they? Well, let us try to answer the question - whatever receives no stimuli that originates from any given source - am I correct? Well, no they would not know that they were alive. Because to sense something is to receive stimuli from some source, and if sense, nor stimulous, is not present, nothing in being preceived, received, or, otherwise, observed!

Answer 2

I think it depends on what you mean by "know they are alive". Most of us learn about ourselves and the world we live in through our senses. We know we are alive because we can look at our surroundings, think about information we have gathered through our senses, interact with others, move around, or carry on bodily functions (although not all people can do all of those things). If someone was deprived of the senses that we use to gather most of their information, that person would still be a rational, conscious, intelligent person, but the sense of self and of existence would probably be radically different from what most of us experience. I imagine it would be somewhat like living your entire life alone in a completely dark, soundproof room, cut off from all other living things. Maybe there could be some way to communicate with such a person, such as exposing them to different scents, but no way to tell them what the scents mean (how would you know that the smell of smoke could signal danger if no one could ever tell you that?). So I think such a person would "know" they are alive, but the way they know this would be very different from the way you and I know it because they would not only be deprived of sensory input, but also of social interaction. Interaction with others is in my opinion the most important way in which our sense of self is formed.

Answer 3

Yes! Keller was deaf and blind.. she became a teacher... Although one may not be able to feel touch.. they could still feel vibrations, smell, taste food and drink.. then again.. with all the technology we have today.. I'm sure they could half way fix that person :)

Answer 4

In the stillness you can hear the beating of your heart, the sound of your breathing slow and steady. IN the darkness our thoughts take wings. The warm of the sun on the side of your face, the wind in your hair, the wetness of the rain on your skin. The crispness of snow. These are things that we cannot feel with our hands or see with our eyes or hear with our ears. Perhaps they are the most precious of all because they are the things we take fro granted.

Answer 5

FOR ALMOST THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THIS PLANET MANKIND ALL OVER, EVERY CULTUR, RACE BELIEVED AND ACCEPTED LIFE AS BEING A SPIRITUAL EXISTENCE AT IT'S ESSENCE. ALONG CAME A SPIDER CALLED EVOLUTION WITH a bunch of all knowing psuedo scientists and now people have to ask if a living spirit knows its alive. BOO!

Answer 6

they could be blind, deaf, and insensitive to touch, but they could still know they are alive cause they could think.

Answer 7

it would kind of be like constant sleep, maybe. but you could still smell and taste. but wait isnt taste related to touch, so you wouldnt be able to taste. and isnt smell related to taste, so you couldnt smell either? yeah that would suck.

Answer 8

Pretty deep there John Boy!

Answer 9

Yes because they could still think. it would be a little more dillicult at first but yes of course

Answer 10

they wouldn't think in words or shapes or colors or in senses that we take for granted, but they would think and be alive, and should be able to know it