Philosophical research into olfaction often focuses on its limitations. We explore instead an underappreciated capacity of the sense of smell, namely, its role in interpersonal experience. To illustrate this, we examine how smell can enable continuing connections to deceased loved ones. Understanding this phenomenon requires an appreciation of, first, how olfaction's limitations can facilitate experiences of the deceased person and, second, how olfaction enables experiences of what we refer to as the ‘olfactory air’ of a person. This way of experiencing someone privileges their status as an environmentally situated human animal.

中文翻译：

---

人的悲伤、气味和嗅觉空气

对嗅觉的哲学研究常常关注其局限性。相反，我们探索的是嗅觉的一种未被充分认识的能力，即它在人际体验中的作用。为了说明这一点，我们研究了气味如何能够与已故亲人保持持续的联系。要理解这种现象，首先需要了解嗅觉的局限性如何促进死者的体验，其次，嗅觉如何能够体验我们所说的人的“嗅觉空气”。这种体验某人的方式使他们作为环境中的人类动物享有特权。