This article outlines what it means to see taste as a social sense, that means as an activity related to sociocultural context, rather than as an individual matter of internal reflection. Food and philosophy explores the gustatory sense and its aesthetic features. Home page for carolyn korsmeyer university at buffalo. Jun 08, 2015 food itself and eating and eating the author says is a small exercise in mortality the fragility of food and its ephemerous existence ensures our own. Food and philosophy 1999 explores the neglected gustatory sense of taste and its claims for aesthetic status. I also analyze gender and its influence on philosophical ideas in the book gender and aesthetics. A philosophical perspective, author of fictional points of view and editor of philosophy and fiction. Well food plays an important part in most peoples lives and in quite a few books as well. Carolyn korsmeyer taste, perhaps the most intimate of the five senses, has traditionally been considered beneath the concern of philosophy, too bound to the body, too personal and idiosyncratic. Like the rest of the senses, taste is an involuntary act that our bodies perform in order to help us survive. Taste, perhaps the most intimate of the five senses, has traditionally been considered beneath the concern of philosophy, too bound to the body, too personal and idiosyncratic. Carolyn korsmeyer, author of making sense of taste.
For 2500 years, the sense of taste has been accorded less importance on the hierarchy of human senses. Its a book about food, art, and the relations between food and art. Jul 25, 2011 according to carolyn korsmeyer in her book making sense of taste, sight has always been valued the highest because through it we supposedly acquire the most knowledge about the world. Taste, perhaps the most intimate of the five senses, has traditionally been considered beneath the. The philosophy of taste is a relatively new subject in the field of philosophy, however korsmeyers study of bad taste is well known.
Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Food and philosophy cornell university press, 1999 this book was honored with the international prize from the italian society for aesthetics in 2014. Cracking the philosophy and food nut the philosophers. Taste turns out to be a sense that is more complex, subtle, and worthy of interest than its placement in the history of philosophy would suggest. I draw on carolyn korsmeyer, making sense of taste. He is coauthor, with stein haugom olsen, of truth, fiction, and literature. Prices including delivery for making sense of taste. Korsmeyerl breaks new philosophical ground and offers interesting. In making sense of taste, carolyn korsmeyer explains how taste.
When a life and a death are commemorated in a taste usa. Sep 19, 2002 prices including delivery for making sense of taste. What she lays out very effectively and persuasively is the origins of our denigration of taste and smell and our celebration of the other senses. Yet, in addition to providing physical pleasure, eating and drinking bear symbolic and aesthetic value in human experience, and they continually inspire writers and artists. Food and philosophy this entertainingly written work brings the aesthetics of food uptodate. In touch with the past, concerns the experience of genuine or real things, and the ways that artifacts can. Over 14 million journal, magazine, and newspaper articles.
Cornell university press, 1999 feminist perspectives in aesthetics edit feminist aesthetics refers to the idea that in their basic form, classic concepts such as genius, beauty, fine art, aesthetic perception cradle social roles are qualities that are presumed as gender related. Food and philosophy 1st edition by carolyn korsmeyer author visit amazons carolyn korsmeyer page. Despite the lack of philosophical investigation of food and food topics, in the last decade a growing repertoire of books and media has emerged. Food and philosophy cornell university press, 1999. Philosophers like plato believed that unlike sight, which can take in and process many objects at once, which works better the further the object is from the body.
Cool things from books that might be relevant to this post by proving taste and food plays important roles in stories. The features of the sense of taste that by tradition have resulted in its low esteem traverse several of the major branches of philosophy. Not everyone has a taste for philosophy and most academic philosophers write in a manner which requires a lot of chewing before swallowing. For 2500 years, the sense of taste has been accorded less importance on the hierarchy. Cynthia pineo edits philosophy books and designs websites. Although we love to talk about food, the sense of taste has rarely been the subject of philosophical analysis. What she lays out very effectively and persuasively is the origins of our denigration of taste and smell and our. Despite the title, she does deal with all five of the senses.
Kerri mommer, a former atkins dieter, is an editor of philosophy books. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Read taste books like chickpea flour does it all and hidden persuaders in cocoa and chocolate for free with a free 30day trial. Carolyn korsmeyer has done the field of aesthetics a discipline on the ingredient list of philosophy a great service with her book making sense of taste. Denigrated as primitive, crude, bestial, and epistemically obtuse, taste has been ignored in favor of vision and hearing, which strike philosophers as nobler, less mixed up with our messy animality.
This book is a philosophical investigation of the sense of taste. Its also a book about tastethe thing the art critic has. Peter lamarqueis ferens professor of philosophy at the university of hull, england. Though culture in the science of taste is recognized as an influential parameter, it is often mentioned as the black box, leaving it open to determine exactly how culture impacts taste, and vice versa, and. The sense of taste is an educable faculty, as the dizzying variety of eating preferences displayed across the globe testify. She is the author or editor of several books in aesthetics and philosophy of art. When a life and a death are commemorated in a taste. Korsmeyer provides an evaluation of the sense of taste in many contexts. She convincingly defends the sense of taste and the enjoyment of delicious foods as important aspects of existence, lays bare the intricate web of bias that has at times excluded the bodily, practical andor domestic from philosophy, and demonstrates the relevance of this exclusion to key problems and debates that infuse the contemporary. Her consideration of taste in philosophy explores why pungent food like soured milk, fried bugs, extremely hot peppers, and game meat are seen as strong and complex to our palettes. Philosophers historically have paid little attention to the sense of taste, dismissing it as an inferior sense and one that is too idiosyncratic to be worthy of consideration. The foul and the fair in aesthetics concerns the appeal of disgust when it is aroused by works of art and even on occasion by foods.
Food and philosophy and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. This is a great book for anyone interested in the growing niche of philosophy and food related matters. By carolyn korsmeyer cornell university press ithaca and london 1999 the book presents an interesting analysis of the sense of taste and the ramifications of our perception of it. Erin mckenna consumes a tasteful but nonfattening book by carolyn korsmeyer. Several of the publications listed under books address taste, food, disgust, and related subjects. Food and philosophy by carolyn korsmeyer 2002 0919.
This is a book about tastethe thing your tongue and nose do. Chemicals from food termed tastants dissolve in saliva and contact the taste cells through the taste pore. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Usually when a philosopher addresses this subject, discussion moves rapidly to issues of. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Food and philosophy by aug 17, 2015 fish can taste with their fins, tales and their mouths. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books.
The last two sections involve visual and literary expressions of food, taste and desire symbols. Taste buds are onionshaped structures of between 50 and 100 taste cells, each of which has. Making sense of taste is, at one level, a book about aesthetics. Food and philosophy by food, the sense of taste has rarely been the subject of philosophical analysis. Cracking the philosophy and food nut the philosophers kitchen. Usually when a philosopher addresses this subject, discussion moves rapidly to issues of aesthetic discrimination regarding objects of art and to questions about relative preference and standards for artistic judgments. As we have just seen, the character of taste sensations and the nature of food and drink disqualify both from aesthetics and philosophy of art. It is a mustread for foodies, gourmands, chefs, epicureans, cultural theorists, and philosophers of art. For 2500 years, the sense of taste has been accorded less importance on the hierarchy of human senses than the higher senses of sight and hearing. Food and philosophy explores the gustatory sense and its aesthetic. Food and philosophy kindle edition by korsmeyer, carolyn.
Lisa heldke is professor of philosophy at gustavus adolphus college and author of exotic appetites. She also works in the area of feminist philosophy, and her latest book on this subject is gender in aesthetics. Huffington post this book is short but packed with provocative ideas. Taste, food, and philosophy the book is engaging and packed with stimulating thoughts and tidbits to chew on pun intended, of course.