Ann-Sophie Barwich, PhD

I am an empirical philosopher & historian of science, technology, and the senses.

I am currently a Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience at The Center for Science & Society, Columbia University. There, I am the resident philosopher in the laboratory of Stuart Firestein, Neuroscientist. 

My book project highlights the importance of thinking about the sense of smell as a model for neuroscience and the senses, and is under contract with Harvard University Press.

My research in the Philosophy of Olfaction investigates:
  • How does the brain make sense of scents?
  • What are the perceptual dimensions of smell?
  • What are the epistemic, empirical, and social factors that define ongoing science (in comparison with the philosophical study of historical episodes)?

Previously, I held a research fellowship at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Vienna (2013-15); and I received my PhD at the Centre for the Study of the Life Sciences, University of Exeter (2013), for my thesis titled, “Making Sense of Smell: Classifications and Model Thinking in Olfaction Theory” under the direction of John Dupré.

I am also fascinated by (the history of) magic for its implications in understanding the effects that conjuring tricks play on our minds. ​

Contact: ab4221_at_columbia,edu                     Twitter: @smellosopher


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