From odours to flavours: perceptual organisation in the chemical senses

Millar, Becky 2023. From odours to flavours: perceptual organisation in the chemical senses. Keller, Andreas and Young, Benjamin D., eds. Theoretical Perspectives on Smell, Routledge, pp. 223-240.

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Abstract

This chapter argues that smell and flavour perception present distinctive challenges for phenomenological reflection, but that these difficulties can be addressed through a ‘gestaltist’ approach to perceptual organisation. I argue that the ‘chemical’ senses do not generally allow immediate access to ordinary objects like roses and apples, but rather to odours and flavours, the diffuse nature of which make it hard to get a grip on the associated perceptual phenomenology. Drawing on the work of gestalt psychologists and phenomenologists, I outline a modality-neutral approach that emphasises the irreducibly structured nature of perceptual experience and is especially useful for thinking about experiences that are not targeted at ordinary physical objects. Such an approach can clarify and explain nebulous aspects of perceptual experience, illuminating elements of our smell and flavour experiences that may be indeterminate.

Item Type:	Book Section
Status:	Published
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Publisher:	Routledge
ISBN:	9781003207801
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 April 2024
Date of Acceptance:	18 November 2022
Last Modified:	30 Jun 2024 01:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/167180

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