Stinking Philosophy!

Smell, despite being central to philosophy of mind and consciousness, has been neglected for centuries. Benjamin Young's book argues that the nature of odors and how we perceive, cognitively represent, and categorize them remains poorly understood. Drawing on over a decade of research, Young presents a methodology to address philosophical and conceptual issues raised by olfaction. He shows how the philosophy of smell advances debates in philosophy of mind, perception, and cognitive neuroscience, demonstrating that empirically informed philosophy can significantly impact interdisciplinary research on smell across philosophy, chemistry, and neuroscience.

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Abstract

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, in an exacting and coherent fashion, 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.