Mind, Brain and Reasoning PhD Seminars presents

Ann-Sophie Barwich (Indiana University-Bloomington)

Better than we think? The Sense of Smell as a Model for Theories of Perception

Webinar on Zoom. May 5, 2021, 5:00-6:15 PM.

 

Abstract:

The human sense of smell has a remarkably lousy reputation. Popular opinion holds that we are bad at identifying and naming scents, our olfactory system is in evolutionary decline, and our olfactory sensations lack cognitive sophistication. Over the past three decades, however, scientific insight has proven many of these predominantly pejorative beliefs about human smell perception wrong. It turns out that our olfactory system is much more elaborate than previously thought, both in its physiological and cognitive functions. Recent developments in research on smell now offer an intriguing challenge to the current paradigm of sensory explanation: vision.
This talk evaluates how our theories of mind and brain have been traditionally framed through
our understanding of vision and how they can be more extensively understood through smell.

Everyone interested is welcome to attend.

Participation is strongly recommended to students of the Doctoral School in Philosophy and Human Sciences and of the Doctoral School in Brain, Mind, and Reasoning.

The cycle of meetings is part of the didactic proposal of the Doctorate in Brain, Mind, and Reasoning.

Organization: Andrea Guardo, PhD.