Taste as Experience: The Philosophy and Aesthetics of Food (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History)

Nicola Perullo sees food as constituting our first and most significant encounter with the earth. He draws on years of research to explain the complex meanings behind our food choices and the thinking that accompanies our gustatory actions. For Perullo, taste is value and wisdom. It cannot be reduced to mere chemical or cultural factors but embodies the quality and quantity of our earthly experience. How do our daily encounters with food shape our knowledge of the world? Contents Preface to the American Edition Foreword by Massimo Montanari Introduction The Project Difficulties and Resistances Possibilities and Perspectives First mode of access: pleasure Pleasure, Enjoyment, and Intelligence Pleasure, Image, and Pathology Criticism and the Look of Childhood Pleasure as Nature in Culture The Ethics of Pleasure: Good That Does “Good” Second mode of access: knowledge Learning About Quality, Cultivating Taste Tasting the World Dressed Taste, Image, and Representation Taste, Conflicts, and Culture Curiosity, Expertise, Criticism (with Risks Included) Taste and Sustainability: The Good That Grounds the Good Taste and Diet Third mode of access: indifference Essen Non Est Percipi Contingent Indifference Compulsive Indifference and Atmospheric Indifference The Neutral The Extension of Pleasure and the Limits of Gustatory Exclusivism The wisdom of taste, the taste of wisdom Taste and Pleasure, Experience, and Wisdom Wise Expertise (Epicurus, Hume, and Dewey) Regulation Without Rules Flexibility: The Forest and the Coast Conviviality: Discord and Gustatory Empathy Take My Advice Notes References Index "Taste as Experience puts the pleasure of food at the center of human experience. It shows how the sense of taste informs our preferences for and relationship to nature, pushes us toward ethical practices of consumption, and impresses upon us the importance of aesthetics. Eating is often dismissed as a necessary aspect of survival, and our personal enjoyment of food is considered a quirk. Nicola Perullo sees food as the only portion of the world we take in on a daily basis, constituting our first and most significant encounter with the earth. Perullo has long observed people's food practices and has listened to their food experiences. He draws on years of research to explain the complex meanings behind our food choices and the thinking that accompanies our gustatory actions. He also considers our indifference toward food as a force influencing us as much as engagement. For Perullo, taste is value and wisdom. It cannot be reduced to mere chemical or cultural factors but embodies the quality and quantity of our earthly experience."--Publisher's description