Brentano on Sensations and Sensory Qualities

Sensations are mental acts that are intentionally directed at sensory objects. Franz Brentano discusses sensations and sensory qualities abundantly; such discussions are found in his psychological as well as in his metaphysical works, in his earlier as well as later works. Brentano systematically uses "sensation" in the first sense, to denote only sensory acts—hearings, smellings, seeings, and so on. This chapter introduces Brentano's view of sensations by presenting the intentional features of sensations irreducible to features of the sensory objects. It presents Brentano's view of sensory objects—which include sensory qualities—and the features of sensations that such objects allow to explain, such as their intensity. The chapter also presents Brentano's approach to sensory pleasures and pains, which combines both appeals to specific modes of reference and to specific sensory qualities. "The principle of individuation for sensory qualities must consist in some sort of spatial category".