Programme

The course introduces students to the main philosophical and aesthetic questions raised by food and taste. After examining why taste has traditionally occupied a marginal position in philosophical aesthetics, the course will address the roles of multisensory perception, pleasure, knowledge, and judgment in gastronomic experience. Particular attention will be devoted to the distinction between subjective preference and reasoned evaluation, to the importance of experience and expertise, and to the nature of culinary creativity. The course will also consider whether, and in what sense, cooking can be regarded as an art, examining such notions as work, recipe, interpretation, authorship, authenticity, and tradition. Theoretical discussion will be connected with examples drawn from culinary practices, tasting, food criticism, and the interpretation and promotion of gastronomic heritage.

Core Documentation

- Carolyn Korsmeyer, Making Sense of Taste: Food and Philosophy, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1999, selected chapters.
- Nicola Perullo, Taste as Experience: The Philosophy and Aesthetics of Food, Columbia University Press, New York, 2016, selected chapters.
- David Hume, “Of the Standard of Taste,” in Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary.
- Further English-language essays, indicated during the course or agreed upon with the instructor, concerning cooking as an art, gastronomic judgment, culinary interpretation, and authenticity.

Reference Bibliography

- Carolyn Korsmeyer, Making Sense of Taste: Food and Philosophy, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1999, selected chapters. - Nicola Perullo, Taste as Experience: The Philosophy and Aesthetics of Food, Columbia University Press, New York, 2016, selected chapters. - David Hume, “Of the Standard of Taste,” in Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary. - Further English-language essays, indicated during the course or agreed upon with the instructor, concerning cooking as an art, gastronomic judgment, culinary interpretation, and authenticity.

Attendance

Attendance is not compulsory but is recommended, particularly because some classes will include seminar-based activities and discussion of case studies. Students who do not attend classes will be required to prepare the specific programme indicated for non-attending students.

Type of evaluation

Assessment will be based on an oral examination. The examination will assess: knowledge of the main concepts and arguments covered in the course; the ability to reconstruct and compare the positions of the authors studied; understanding and appropriate use of philosophical and aesthetic terminology; the ability to apply theoretical categories to the analysis of concrete cases; independent judgment and the ability to support a position with relevant arguments. The final grade will take into account the accuracy and completeness of the student’s knowledge, clarity of exposition, ability to establish connections among the different topics covered in the course, and quality of argumentation. A primarily mnemonic knowledge of the course content, presented with an adequate degree of accuracy, will result in a grade between 18 and 22 out of 30. An adequate ability to understand and connect concepts and arguments will result in a grade between 23 and 27 out of 30. A thorough command of the course content, combined with independent critical judgment, conceptual precision, and the ability to apply theoretical concepts to concrete cases, will result in a grade between 28 and 30 out of 30, with honours where appropriate. Students who are unable to read Italian, including Erasmus and other international students, may prepare an equivalent examination programme in English. The relevant readings and the language of the examination must be agreed upon with the instructor in advance. The oral examination may be taken in English.