On the Nose

Idealist philosophers, such as Kant, hate the nose: they only care about the eyes and the production of visual images and mental concepts; scents and smells, be they base or beautiful, mean nothing to them and might almost entirely be ignored.

But for those philosophers who seek to develop a form of libidinal materialism that is firmly rooted in the body and wider sensual experience - who don't wish merely to picture the world, but also to sniff it at close quarters - the nose is the most crucial of organs.

Thus it is that Nietzsche boasts that his whole genius resides in his nostrils and praises the nose as "the most delicate tool we have at our command"; a subtle scientific instrument which can detect minimal changes of condition, including symptoms of moral decay. As such, the nose deserves to be shown respect and gratitude by philosophers.

    

Lovers too know that the nose knows best, which is why they like to literally breathe in the odour of the beloved other; not merely for sensual intoxication and pleasure, but in order to make an accurate physiological assessment of their partner's health and breeding potential.

For it is believed that an individual's body odour - or what is sometimes termed their olfactive signature - is linked with an area of the genome that has crucial import for the immune system. Thus it might well be that knicker-sniffing, for example, is a form of biological imperative; one is seeking out histocompatibility and not just being a bit pervy.