The Trouble with Fragrance

Abstract

This paper investigates the ancient Greek commentators' interpretation of Aristotle's doctrine of inherence, as suggested by his remarks at 'Categories' ch. 2. Specifically, the views of Ammonius, Simplicius, Philoponus, Olympiodorus and Elias are discussed with respect to their solution of the problem of fragrance, viz., how can an apple's fragrance be an accident of the apple and, contrary to Aristotle's doctrine of inherence, separate from it? The article shows that there is a development in the discussions of the commentators from solutions which imply a weak construal of inherence towards solutions which imply a strong construal. It also turns out that their solutions to the problem require a rethinking of Aristotle's psychology, in particular his theory of smell.