Kemp S
University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
J Hist Behav Sci. 1997 Summer;33(3):211-9. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1520-6696(199722)33:3<211::aid-jhbs1>3.0.co;2-u.
Medieval scholars debated whether odor was transmitted through a medium as suggested by Aristotle or by fumes or vapors from the odoriferous object as suggested by Plato. Key evidence believed to support Aristotle's theory was the behavior of birds in detecting carrion from far away. The medieval approach to this essentially secular controversy was, nevertheless, similar to that used in issues thinkers of that time regarded as of more importance.
中世纪学者们争论气味是如亚里士多德所提出的那样通过某种介质传播，还是如柏拉图所提出的那样由有气味物体散发的烟雾或蒸汽传播。被认为支持亚里士多德理论的关键证据是鸟类能从远处察觉到腐肉的行为。然而，中世纪对这一本质上属于世俗争议的处理方式，与当时思想家们认为更为重要的问题所采用的方式类似。
