Philosophical Works · Chapter
Of Smell explained
Descartes explains that the sense of smell is caused by subtle particles from terrestrial bodies entering the nostrils and moving the nerves or appendages of the brain, with different motions producing different smell sensations.
What happens
Descartes explains that the sense of smell is caused by subtle particles from terrestrial bodies entering the nostrils and moving the nerves or appendages of the brain, with different motions producing different smell sensations.
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Narrative arc
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- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
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- René Descartes
Author explaining the mechanism of smell
Key passages
“two nerves also or appendages of the brain, for they do not go beyond the limits of the skull, are moved by the particles of terrestrial bodies, separated and flying in the air, not indeed by all particles indifferently, but by those only that are sufficiently subtle and penetrating to enter the pores of the bone we call the spongy, when drawn into the nostrils, and thus to reach the nerves.”
Two nerves inside the skull are stimulated only by fine airborne particles that can pass through the spongy bone in the nose.
Descartes describes the physical basis of olfaction.
