A ≠ B → Taste & Discernment March 23rd, 2024 at 2:30PM Past Event Watch the video » Where life begins to distinguish the edible, the nutritious, the appealing, from the insipid, the poisonous, and the disgusting; this is where taste and discernment come into being. From a bag of Cheetos to Michelin 3-star fare we cover a lot of ground, yet financial means alone fails to account fully for the popularity of both ends of this culinary spectrum. What does account for taste? And from there: what role does discernment play in judgment? Beyond touch, the interface here – our tongue – dense in receptor sites, transcribes chemical as well as mechanical signals into electrochemical reactions. The feel of food and the flavor of food combine to form the sense of taste. And while taste may have evolved as a means to solve the problem of hunger, taste clearly is no longer limited to its role in satiety. This dissociation of hunger and taste presents itself both as a problem (formerly gluttony) and as a refined pleasure that forms its own category of art. Con gusto! Historically, how did we move from the pleasure or disgust that food brings to that sense of taste suggesting discernment? And taste as a personal quality – is it innate or acquired – has engaged the field of aesthetics and practical reason since classical times. Participants: Paul Breslin Professor of Nutritional Sciences, School of Environmental & Biological Sciences, Rutgers University Co-Director, Monell Science Apprenticeship Program View Papers / Presentations » Paul Breslin is professor of Nutritional Sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and is a Member of The Monell Chemical Senses Center, where he is Co-Director of the Monell Science Apprenticeship Program. His research interests address multiple disciplines including: sensation and perception, chemical senses… read more » Jerrold Levinson Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, University of Maryland View Papers / Presentations » Jerrold Levinson is Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Maryland and Past President of the American Society for Aesthetics, 2001-2003. He is the author of five collections of essays, Music, Art, and Metaphysics (Cornell UP 1990, 2nd ed. Oxford UP 2010), The Pleasures of Aesthetics (Cornell UP 1996), Contemplating Art (Oxford… read more » John McQuaid Journalist & Author John McQuaid is a journalist and author of Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat (Scribner, 2015), on the biology, history, and cultures of flavor. He has written on science and the environment for publications including Smithsonian and Scientific American, and won many national journalism awards, including sharing Pulitzer Prizes for a series on global fisheries collapses and for… read more » Nils Noren Professional Chef Director of Hospitality & Development, Chapman Ventures Co-Found & Director of Trade & Union Nils Noren started his cooking career in his native Sweden, where he worked at many of the top restaurants and was Executive Chef at KB restaurant were he received a star from Guide Michelin. Nils moved to New York City to work along side Marcus Samuelsson at Restaurant Aquavit as Chef de Cuisine before being… read more » Danielle Reed Chief Science Officer, Monell Chemical Senses Center View Papers / Presentations » Danielle Renee Reed is the Chief Science Officer of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, a non-profit research institution devoted to the study of taste and smell, located in Philadelphia. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Yale University, and did her postdoctoral training in genetics at the University of Pennsylvania. She studies person-to-person differences in… read more »
Paul Breslin Professor of Nutritional Sciences, School of Environmental & Biological Sciences, Rutgers University Co-Director, Monell Science Apprenticeship Program View Papers / Presentations » Paul Breslin is professor of Nutritional Sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and is a Member of The Monell Chemical Senses Center, where he is Co-Director of the Monell Science Apprenticeship Program. His research interests address multiple disciplines including: sensation and perception, chemical senses… read more »
Jerrold Levinson Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, University of Maryland View Papers / Presentations » Jerrold Levinson is Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Maryland and Past President of the American Society for Aesthetics, 2001-2003. He is the author of five collections of essays, Music, Art, and Metaphysics (Cornell UP 1990, 2nd ed. Oxford UP 2010), The Pleasures of Aesthetics (Cornell UP 1996), Contemplating Art (Oxford… read more »
John McQuaid Journalist & Author John McQuaid is a journalist and author of Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat (Scribner, 2015), on the biology, history, and cultures of flavor. He has written on science and the environment for publications including Smithsonian and Scientific American, and won many national journalism awards, including sharing Pulitzer Prizes for a series on global fisheries collapses and for… read more »
Nils Noren Professional Chef Director of Hospitality & Development, Chapman Ventures Co-Found & Director of Trade & Union Nils Noren started his cooking career in his native Sweden, where he worked at many of the top restaurants and was Executive Chef at KB restaurant were he received a star from Guide Michelin. Nils moved to New York City to work along side Marcus Samuelsson at Restaurant Aquavit as Chef de Cuisine before being… read more »
Danielle Reed Chief Science Officer, Monell Chemical Senses Center View Papers / Presentations » Danielle Renee Reed is the Chief Science Officer of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, a non-profit research institution devoted to the study of taste and smell, located in Philadelphia. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Yale University, and did her postdoctoral training in genetics at the University of Pennsylvania. She studies person-to-person differences in… read more »
Yes, you will be able to review it on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPvmwirHcVE Reply