Quality-space theory in olfaction.
Quality-space theory (QST) explains the nature of the mental qualities distinctive of perceptual states by appeal to their role in perceiving. QST is typically described in terms of the mental qualities that pertain to color. Here we apply QST to the olfactory modalities. Olfaction is in various respects more complex than vision, and so provides a useful test case for QST. To determine whether QST can deal with the challenges olfaction presents, we show how a quality space (QS) could be constructed relying on olfactory perceptible properties and the olfactory mental qualities then defined by appeal to that QS of olfactory perceptible properties. We also consider how to delimit the olfactory QS from other modalities. We further apply QST to the role that experience plays in refining our olfactory discriminative abilities and the occurrence of olfactory mental qualities in non-conscious olfactory states. QST is shown to be fully applicable to and useful for understanding the complex domain of olfaction.
The Department of Cognitive and Brain Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Benjamin D
BD
Young
Philosophy Program, Graduate Center, City University of New York New York, NY, USA.
Andreas
A
Keller
Philosophy Program and Concentration in Cognitive Science, Graduate Center, City University of New York New York, NY, USA.
David
D
Rosenthal
consciousness; mental qualities; olfaction; perceptual qualities; phenomenology; quality-space; quality-space theory