Temperature is the amount of kinetic energy in a system. Are we feeling the force of the molecules hitting our skin when we detect something as being hot? Do we feel the kinetic energy in our skin decreasing when something feels cold? What do we actually feel when we detect temperature differences between our bodies and the objects with which we come into contact?
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You pretty much got it from a physics perspective. A couple of things to note. Temperature measures the average kinetic energy of a system, not the total. How hot/cold something feels is ordinarily determined by the rate of the kinetic energy being transfered. The rate of heat transfer will be based on the materials’ thermal conductivity.
The actual “feeling” of hot and cold is more of a biological question. Biology could give an explanation involving nerves, the brain, and whatever else may be involved. However, your post seems more targeted to the physics of what’s happening.
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