mmm...subjectivity
Our sense of touch is, for some reason, the only sense that generates a feeling of real subjectivity. When we touch something (or someone), we become immediately aware of the body part that is doing to touching, and therefore of the Self....this is different from, say, seeing or hearing. When we see a beautiful sunset or a dead animal, we do not think about our eyes and their specific experience of what is being looked at. Our consciousness is drawn only to the object of sight. Touch, however, brings to the awareness of the conscious mind the fact that all sensory experience is a meeting place between the body/mind and the world.
As a result, touch is such an important part of how we relate to ourselves and to one another. While we use vision, smell, and hearing as a means of gauging how other percieve us, we use touch (primarily) to determine how we ourselves FEEL and EXPERIENCE. Touch is what gives us a sense of existing fully in the world - not just as someone else's sensory hallucination.
As a result, touch is such an important part of how we relate to ourselves and to one another. While we use vision, smell, and hearing as a means of gauging how other percieve us, we use touch (primarily) to determine how we ourselves FEEL and EXPERIENCE. Touch is what gives us a sense of existing fully in the world - not just as someone else's sensory hallucination.