Page 100 - Darwin's Dilemma: The Soul

Darwin’s Dilemma: The Soul

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S Smells and Tastes Arise Solely in Our Brains s
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You can assume that the delicious smell of a meal cooking
actually comes from the food itself. We imagine that other peo-
ple experience exactly the same aromas as we do, and believe
that we all share common sensations. But this is merely conjec-
ture. What reaches us is scent molecules, which are converted
into electrical signals. Just as with sight and sound, what we re-
fer to as “smell” is a sophisticated mixture of electrical signals.
The scent molecules themselves never reach our brains.
The famous George Berkeley, whom we referred to earlier,
described this fact:
At the beginning, it was believed that colours, odours, etc., “re-
ally exist,” but subsequently such views were renounced, and it
was seen that they only exist in dependence on our sensations. 60
In dreams, when there are no scent molecules physically
present, the perception of scent can be felt just as realistically. In
the same way that you can envision exceptionally clear and dis-
tinct images and hear the most flawless sounds as you dream,
you can also perceive scents in the same manner. Therefore, you
can easily see that there is no need for an aroma to have a ma-
terial existence in order for you to perceive it.
The same applies to the perception of taste. Just as with
our other sense organs, the taste receptors on the tongue con-
vert the various arriving stimuli into electrical signals.
Therefore, when you eat a delicious piece of cake, you do not
experience its actual taste. In the same way that you cannot see
its true appearance or smell its true aroma, you also do not en-
joy its real flavor. Its perceived “taste” is produced by the elec-
trical signals sent to the brain.
We experience all the chocolate and fruit we enjoy during
our lives in our perceptual world. The perceptions formed
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