Abstract
Does the sense of smell involve the perception of odor objects? General discussion of perceptual objecthood centers on three criteria: stimulus representation, perceptual constancy, and figure-ground segregation. These criteria, derived from theories of vision, have been applied to olfaction in recent philosophical debates about psychology. An inherent problem with such framing of olfactory objecthood is that philosophers explicitly ignore the constitutive factors of the sensory systems that underpin the implementation of these criteria. The biological basis of odor coding is fundamentally different from the coding principles of the visual system. This article analyzes the three measures of perceptual objecthood against the biological background of the olfactory system. It contrasts the coding principles in olfaction with the visual system to show why these criteria of objecthood fail to be instantiated in odor perception. The argument demonstrates that olfaction affords perceptual categorization without the need to form odor objects.
Highlights
Does the sense of smell involve the perception of odor objects? General discussion of perceptual objecthood centers on three criteria: stimulus representation, perceptual constancy, and figure-ground segregation
This article analyzes the three measures of perceptual objecthood against the biological background of the olfactory system. It contrasts the coding principles in olfaction with the visual system to show why these criteria of objecthood fail to be instantiated in odor perception
There is a solid rationale not to circumvent the specificities of olfaction and other forms of chemoreception when it comes to a comprehensive theory of the senses
Summary
What constitutes a perceptual object and its explanatory centrality in theories of perception? Perceptual objects are routinely discussed under the premise of objectivity. Despite variables such as shifts in surface reflections and our own movement, we identify visual objects across changing environmental conditions This criterion is contingent upon the computational principles of the sensory system, extracting and integrating stimulus features into stable patterns. Olfactory coding cannot be mapped one-to-one onto the characteristics of the visual pathway, and so analysis will engage with features of edge-detection and color vision to emphasize relevant differences with respect to overall perceptual integration. To compare perception in olfaction to vision must feature the coding processes that facilitate the identity and persistence of perceptual objects, regardless of whether these processes link to distinct, albeit overlapping, modules of a sensory system. Setting up how these factors shape the perception of odors provides the background against which to evaluate the adequacy of the three philosophical criteria of objecthood in olfaction
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