Headshot of Benjamin Young.

Benjamin Young

Associate professor of philosophy
University of Nevada, Reno

Benjamin Young is associate professor and director of graduate studies in philosophy at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is also a member of the graduate faculty in interdisciplinary neuroscience at the university’s Institute for Neuroscience. Previously he held a Kreitman Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, as well as a visiting assistant professorship and postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Cognitive Science at Hebrew University. Young conducts research at the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and philosophy, with a particular emphasis on olfaction.

Young’s book “Stinking Philosophy!” (MIT Press, 2024) brings together more than a decade of research on olfactory philosophy. His research on non-conceptual content, qualitative consciousness in the absence of awareness, and the perceptible objects of smell have appeared in journals such as Mind & Language, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly and Philosophical Studies. Additionally, he is co-editor of the textbook “Mind, Cognition, and Neuroscience” (Routledge, 2022) and the collection “Theoretical Perspectives on Smell” (Routledge, 2023). Young is currently working on a book about the unconscious and our sense of self, tentatively titled “Don’t Tell Anyone.”

Explore more from The Transmitter

Books.

The Transmitter’s most-read neuroscience book excerpts of 2025

Books by Nachum Ulanovsky, Nicole Rust, and Andrew Iwaniuk and Georg Striedter made the list of some of the year's most engaging neuroscience titles.

By The Transmitter
24 December 2025 | 2 min read
Nachum Ulanovsky sits against a black background with one bat in his hands and another with its wings spread above his head.

Neuroscience’s leaders, legacies and rising stars of 2025

Here are seven stories from the past year about some of the field’s most engaging figures.

By The Transmitter
24 December 2025 | 2 min read
Stamp over a sheet of paper.

The Transmitter’s top news articles of 2025

Check out some of our most-read stories, covering neuroscience funding and policy changes in the United States, and methodological issues in high-profile neuroscience papers.

By The Transmitter
24 December 2025 | 3 min read

privacy consent banner

Privacy Preference

We use cookies to provide you with the best online experience. By clicking “Accept All,” you help us understand how our site is used and enhance its performance. You can change your choice at any time. To learn more, please visit our Privacy Policy.