Känseln

Känseln, or "the sense," is a Swedish noun used to denote the ability to perceive stimuli through sensory processes and the subjective experience of those stimuli. The word stems from känsla (feeling) and appears in both clinical and everyday language. In its most common use, känseln refers to somatosensation—the perception of touch, temperature, pain, and proprioception—though it can be applied more broadly to other forms of perception and bodily awareness.

In science, the study of känseln is part of neuroscience and psychology, addressing how sensory receptors translate physical energy into neural signals and how the brain interprets these signals to form perception and guide behavior. In philosophy and phenomenology, känseln is discussed in relation to embodiment and the role of the body in experiential knowledge. In everyday Swedish, the term can also denote a more general sense of mood or intuition when speaking figuratively.

Related terms include känsla (feeling or emotion), sinnen (the senses), and sensorik (sensor perception, used in technical or consumer contexts). The concept is often taught alongside other senses as part of education on perception, and it intersects with fields such as somatosensation, tactile perception, and proprioception.