Sentence:  The underlying assumption , of course , is that only sight and touch enable us , in any precise and fully dependable way , to locate objects in space beyond us , the other senses <WSD>being</WSD> decidedly inferior , if not totally inadequate , in this regard . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)