Analiza i Egzystencja


ISSN: 1734-9923    eISSN: 2300-7621    OAI    DOI: 10.18276/aie.2026.73-05
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Issue archive / 73 (2026)
Neuroestetyka zapachu: o wyzwaniach i ograniczeniach sztuki olfaktorycznej
(The Neuroaesthetics of Smell: Challenges and Limitations of Olfactory Art)

Authors: Anna Prus ORCID
Gdański Uniwersytet Medyczny; Uniwersytet Gdański
Keywords: scents olfactory art neuroaesthetics philosophy of art neurophysiology
Whole issue publication date:2026
Page range:20 (123-142)
Cited-by (Crossref) ?:

Abstract

The article analyzes philosophical problems related to olfactory art, which, despite the historical marginalization of this sense as “lower,” “dark,” or “animalistic,” is increasingly asserting its presence in aesthetic discourse. The transience and ephemerality of scents pose both perceptual and conservation challenges, raising questions about the possibility of their aesthetic conceptualization and the inherent limitations of olfactory art. The text emphasizes the need to redefine analytical categories in the field of esthetics, highlighting methodological, ontological, and epistemological difficulties arising from the lack of a clear semantic code for such works and the variability of scent perception depending on biological conditions, cultural context, and individual experiences of the recipient. Since the aesthetic experience related to the sense of smell is often perceived as requiring specific predispositions or prior training, the author suggests considering olfactory art analogously to music – as an ephemeral medium that nevertheless carries intentional content.
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