The Development Of Taste And Other Studies In Aesthetics

Excerpt from The Development of Taste, and Other Studies in Aesthetics It is nearly twenty years now since I received my first stimulus to Studies in Aesthetics, and it was received from lectures given, and essays prescribed, by Professor Edward Caird, of Glasgow University, in session 1866-67. Early in the session we had as subject of essay, "The Relations of Religion, Art, and Philosophy," and later, in connection with the philosophy of Plato, "The Place of Art in Education." These led me in the following summer to write more carefully, and after a good deal of reading, on The Power of Art in Education; and from that time forward the subject of Beauty has been always one of interest to me, and for years one of much thought. The time that has elapsed since my first interest in the subject will explain my references to works of such a miscellaneous character; for, while not always writing on the subject, I have always been taking note of anything that bore on it in the course of my reading. Among the first works that I read on Beauty were those of Alison and Jeffrey, and of Cousin, and Professor Blackie, and Dr. Mac Vicar. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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. 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. Carolyn Korsmeyer explains how taste came to occupy so low a place in the hierarchy of senses and why it is deserving of greater philosophical respect and attention. Korsmeyer begins with the Greek thinkers who classified taste as an inferior, bodily sense; she then traces the parallels between notions of aesthetic and gustatory taste that were explored in the formation of modern aesthetic theories. She presents scientific views of how taste actually works and identifies multiple components of taste experiences. Turning to taste's objects—food and drink—she looks at the different meanings they convey in art and literature as well as in ordinary human life and proposes an approach to the aesthetic value of taste that recognizes the representational and expressive roles of food. Korsmeyer's consideration of art encompasses works that employ food in contexts sacred and profane, that seek to whet the appetite and to keep it at bay; her selection of literary vignettes ranges from narratives of macabre devouring to stories of communities forged by shared eating.

The Invention of Taste provides a detailed overview of the development of taste, from ancient times to the present. At the heart of the book is an intriguing question: why did the sensory attribute of human taste become a social metaphor and aesthetic value for judging cultural qualities of art, fashion, cuisine and other social constructions? Unique amongst the senses, taste is at once a biologically derived sense, private, personal and individual, yet also a sensibility which can be acquired, shared, and communicated. Exploring the many factors that defined the evolution of taste -- from medieval morals and medicine to social and cultural philosophy, the rise of aesthetics, birth of fashion, branding trends, and luxury worship in the age of mass consumption -- Luca Vercelloni's ambitious text provides readers with an outstanding introduction to the subject, making it the cultural history of taste. Now available for the first time in English, Taste features a new final chapter and a preface by series editor David Howes. Rich in detail and examples, this interdisciplinary work is an important read for students and researchers in sensory studies, philosophy, sociology and cultural studies, as well as gastronomy, fashion, design, and branding.