Stinking philosophy! : smell perception, cognition, and consciousness /
Benjamin D. Young.
- xiv, 233 pages ; 23 cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
What are smells? -- Tasting flavors -- Formatting odors -- Pondering smells -- Unconsciously smelling -- Stinking theories of consciousness. An apologetic preface --
"An original work of scholarship that argues for the importance of olfaction (sense of smell) for understanding perennial issues philosophy of mind, perception, and consciousness"-- "The nature of olfaction; its importance for understanding perennial issues of philosophy of mind, perception, and consciousness; and its implications for cognitive neuroscience. What are smells? Despite the best efforts of philosophy and the chemosciences, the question remains vexing--but no more perplexing than the historical lapse of the past few centuries to seriously consider a sense that has a key place in philosophy of mind and perception. Stinking Philosophy! is Benjamin Young's answer to this critical lapse. Drawing together more than a decade of research on olfactory philosophy, this book offers a clear, comprehensive look at the nature of odors--how we perceive smells, how we cognitively represent odors, how we communicate about them as categories, and what they can tell us about consciousness. In Stinking Philosophy! Young presents a methodology for addressing the philosophical and conceptual issues raised by the sense of smell. Then he explores how the philosophy of smell contributes to--and advances--a wide range of debates within philosophy of mind, perception, and cognitive neuroscience. Ultimately, his work demonstrates how empirically informed philosophy can have a significant impact on interdisciplinary research on smell across philosophy, the chemosciences, and neuroscience." --
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