20410744 - Philosophy and aesthetics of taste

The course aims to provide students with a broad critical introduction to the study of the concept of taste as a multifaceted philosophical-cultural topic that involves not only an aesthetic-theoretical dimension but also an existential one. In addition to this, the aim is to investigate the different modes of philosophical-artistic communication linked to the dimension of food in an intercultural and comparative perspective between West and East.
teacher profile | teaching materials

Programme

During the course, we will particularly engage with the multifaceted philosophical category of taste, first in 18th-century aesthetics (from Hume to Kant), and then consider its philosophical (in Feuerbach) and artistic interpretations and resonances in cinema, literature (e.g., futurism) and contemporary art, both Western and Eastern.

Core Documentation

- David Hume, La regola del gusto, in D. Hume, La regola del gusto e altri saggi, a cura di G. Preti, Abscondita, Milano 2006, pp. 11-33.
- Immanuel Kant: Riflessioni sul Gusto. Centro Internazionale Studi di Estetica, no. 436 and 485 (p. 28), no. 744 (p. 41), no. 747 (p. 42), no. 767 (p. 43), no. 868 (p. 55), no. 1512 (pp. 74-76).
- Immanuel Kant: Critica della facoltà di giudizio, edited by Emilio. Garroni and Hansmichael Hohenegger, Turin, Einaudi, 1999, pp. 46-55, §6-9.

By choice:
- L' uomo è ciò che mangia di Ludwig Feuerbach Bollati Boringhieri, a cura di Andrea Tagliapietra, Bollati Boringhieri, 2017.
- Cucina Futurista, Manifesti teorici, menu e documenti, a cura di G. A. Pantasso, Abscondita 2015, pp. 11-27.

Attending students should choose only one paper from the following four essays (all required for nonattending students) in: Dal gusto al disgusto. L'estetica del pasto di M. Mazzocut-Mis, Raffaello Cortina Editore, Milano, 2015:

- VINCENZI, Paola, La rivoluzione dei sensi, pp. 15-52.
- MAZZOCUT-MIS, Maddalena, A Tavola!... Nel Settecento, pp. 61-93.
- FELOJ, Serena, Dal gusto palatale alla morale. Il disgusto come sentimento, pp. 127-145.
- BERTOLINI, Michele, Lo spettatore alla prova del disgusto, pp. 181-201.

A text of your choice from the following:

- Donald Richie, Sull’estetica giapponese, Lindau, Torino 2009.
- Aldo Tollini, La cultura del tè in Giappone e la ricerca della perfezione, Einaudi, Torino 2014 (Introduction, ch. 1, 2 and 6)

Classroom viewing followed by discussion and by a written questionnaire of the following Films (viewing of which is also mandatory for nonattendees) is planned:

Il gusto degli altri, di Agnès Jaoui, Francia, 2000
Le ricette della signora Toku, di Naomi Kawase, Giappone, 2015
Tampopo, di Jūzō Itami, Giappone, 1985
Everyday is a good day, di Omori Tatsushi 2018
Vatel, di Roland Joffé, Francia/Gran Bretagna, Belgio, 2000
Il pranzo di Babette, di Gabriel Axel, Danimarca, 1987
Vita futurista, di Arnaldo Ginna, Italia, 1916
Morte di un maestro del tè, di Kei Kumai, Giappone, 1989
Eat, di Andy Warhol, USA, 1963
Julie & Julia, di Nora Ephron, USA, 2009
Big Night, di Stanley Tucci e Campbell Scott, USA, 1996
Lunchbox, di Ritesh Batra, India/Francia/Germania/USA/Canada, 2014


Attendance

Attendance is strongly recommended.

Type of evaluation

During the oral test, the following will be assessed: - the level of knowledge of the conceptual content of the texts examined during the course - the mastery in handling more specific information, for example, the technical language used by Kant or the original terms used by D. Richie to analyze Japanese aesthetics or the tea ceremony - critical thinking and the ability to identify connections between different eras and cultures