“The Issue of Synesthesia in Aesthetics of Smell of P.A. Florensky”, speaker – Alina Mayer (Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov)

The seminar will be held online (via zoom). To receive the conference link, send an e-mail to: mindphilosophy.seminar@gmail.com.

Scientific purpose: to discuss the perspectives of combining philosophical analysis of the issue of synesthesia, phenomenology of perception and philosophy of art, based on the materials of Russian and foreign authors, and first of all, the works by P.A. Florensky

Participants: Professors, PhD students and researchers, students and academic staff of RUDN University, Institute of Philosophy of RAS, MSU, RSUH, HSE University, St. Petersburg State University, GUAP, PSU and als.

Abstract

The report is devoted to the problem of synesthesia, a phenomenon of perception characterized as a mixture of sensory sensations. Scientists from different fields are interested in the issue of synesthetic perception: from neuroscientists to philosophers of consciousness; moreover, the phenomenon is also vividly represented in fiction. Synesthesia occupies a special place in aesthetics, as the synesthesia appears to be inherent in art itself. We will turn to the most mingled sense organ — the sense of smell. The central place in the report is occupied by the aesthetics of smell by P.A. Florensky, who believed that smelling is an essential element of the artistic whole. P.A. Florensky sees the task of art in the ultimate synthesis. And the synthesis of the arts includes the problem of synesthesia, which is expressed in the aesthetics of smell.