Il naso di Uexküll. Olfatto, ambiente, proprietà privata

The article explores Uexküll’s understanding of olfactory perception. The analysis will propose to understand the Estonian biologist’s contribution as original and innovative in a field, that of the philosophy of smell, traditionally characterized by clichés and stereotypes. The study of the tick environment leads Uexküll to affirm that olfactory perception can identify not only individuals but species, such as «the mammal itself» (Säugetier an sich); the study of the environment of dogs, especially guide dogs for the blind, shows the plasticity of learning of an animal that makes the sense of smell an essential tool for spatial orientation