Philosophy of Olfactory Perception

By: Andreas Keller

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Synopsis: This book reconsiders the majorcurrent topics in the philosophy of perception using olfaction as the paradigmsense. The author reveals how many of the most basic concepts of philosophy ofperception are based on peculiarities of visual perception not found in othermodalities, and addresses how different the philosophy of perception would beif based on olfaction. The book addresses several aspects of olfaction,including perceptual qualities, percepts, olfaction and cognitive processes,and consciousness. The first partof the book considers perception with respect to its ability to guide behaviorsand to make information available to cognitive processes. The author continuesby addressing the differences between conscious and non-conscious olfactoryperception, and presents an argument for an important role of attention inconscious processes. The book concludes by discussing the function of consciousbrain processes and their link to guiding behaviors in complex situations.