Some will be going ‘That has to be the stupidest question yet on your blog!‘ – as if I would give a flying flamingo. The question came up in passing, on a forum somewhere when someone referred to water being wet as a way to say ‘naturally so and so is the case’ on some point.
As my natural interest is in how the human mind works (or not), based on my very early and enduring philosophical interests, I thought about this issue more carefully. The following questions came up:
- What does wet mean?
- How do we know if something or someone is wet?
- What is the essential ingredient for feeling or perceiving ‘wet’.
Properties of Water
No one needs to a ‘water-expert’ or a ‘wetness-expert’ to understand any of this. Why? Because none of this exploration requires any expertise or authority of any expert. What – are you saying that an expert is needed to tell you how water feels on your person? If so – leave now!
Objective
The issue really cuts to the property of ‘wetness’. I would argue that wet means the feeling or appearance of wetness by water (obviously).
There are physical properties of water that can be tested without human interaction e.g. density, colour, fluidity and so on. But wetness as used by ordinary people, can only be observed by interacting with water or observing it wet something or someone.
Subjective
Wetness is a feeling that is experienced by human beings when water touches them or something that looks wet after being soaked by water. Water being a liquid creates a particular sensation of wetness for humans. Few would consider cooking oil spread generously on their clothing to be ‘wet’. Why? Because oil on the skin or on clothing attached to skin, feels quite different. Water creates a unique sensation even if inferred by the ‘wetness’ of another object or person that appears to be wet by water.
Wetness is not just about sensation but the appearance of objects – dripping wet or oozing wet with surrounding flow. That must be very different to water lying still in a cup of water. Then there is expectation: that falling into a pond will leave one with a particular feeling of wetness. But the water in the pond is not ‘wet’ until one feels its effects by falling into it.
Inferences
Wetness is not a static property inherent to water, but rather an emergent property arising from the interaction between water and the observer. This perspective aligns with the idea that wetness is a relational concept, dependent on the specific context and the observer’s perception.
By contrast I can’t imagine that people would refer to oil, gasoline, diesel or alcohol half-filling a bucket to be ‘wet’. Why? Those are just lying there in buckets doing nothing. Chrysst – it’s so obvious! Those are the commonest liquids I think humans may encounter. Few will come across liquid nitrogen. The expectaton of the wetness of water therefore seems to be attached to water itself. It’s this simple: The rain is not wet just because it is rain. You feel wet after rainwater has fallen on your person or on your clothing. You then feel the particular nature of wet clothing on you. Or if you’re naked, then you feel how water moves, spreads on your skin and the temperature of it.
If a person did not have the ability to feel ‘wet’, to them water would not carry wetness. But the same water could carry all the other objective physical properties of water. In other words, wetness is primarily a ‘touch sensation’. Did I say ‘primarily’? Lemme check. Yes – I did!
A garment that is wet with oil may look soaked. Same for it was wet with gasoline, diesel or alcohol. But the true nature of the wetness of the cloth emerges from ‘touch’. Obviously, an oil-soaked rag will feel greasy even if on first appearance it looks ‘wet’. I do not propose that anyone wet a rag with gasoline or alcohol to test out any of these ideas. Why? Because it’s dangerous to do so – and I’m not explain ‘why’ after that!
Conclusions
Water therefore carries the potential to create a sensation or appearance of wetness, but it isn’t in itself ‘wet’.
The concept of wetness is not solely based on objective properties of liquids, but is heavily influenced by our subjective experiences, expectations, and cultural associations. While other liquids can technically make things wet, water holds a unique position in our perception of wetness due to its prevalence and distinct properties.
Human beings are quick to jump to conclusions.
Belief is not reality.
