The Human Sense of Smell
Videos from the event
- SPEAKER: Barry C. Smith, Director of the Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London
- RESPONDENT: Clare Batty, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Kentucky
- SPEAKER: Donald Wilson, Professor at the Departments of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Neuroscience and Physiology, NYU School of Medicine
- RESPONDENT: Avery Gilbert, Smell Scientist, Entrepreneur, and Author
- SPEAKER: Christophe Laudamiel, Master Perfumer, Scent Composer, Lecturer, Writer, and Chemist Champion
- PANEL DISCUSSION: Panel Discussion
Event information
April 13, 2017, Italian Academy, Columbia University
There are many myths about the human sense of smell. Most persistent are the views that our olfactory abilities are underdeveloped, declining, and lacking cognitive significance. Nothing could be further from the truth. Historically, the spice trade and the ongoing hunt for new flavors have shaped our modern socio-economic landscape. Today, 28 billion dollars are generated annually with fragrance products in the US alone (ranging from perfumes to scented trash bags). Many of these are deeply entwined with hygiene products responsible for improvements in public health. And over the past thirty years, neuroscientific interest in odor perception has been on a steady rise. Central to this development is the dominant role of smell in cross-modal processes of flavor perception. The crucial question here remains unresolved, however: How does our brain make sense of scents and flavors? To explore the human sense of smell in its perceptual, neural, and cultural dimensions, the panel brings together cross-disciplinary perspectives from neuroscience, philosophy, and perfumery.
Moderated by Ann-Sophie Barwich, Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience, Columbia University.