One thought on “Niccolò Tommaseo”

1. shinichi Post author11/03/2016 at 6:58 pm

   Dizionario dei sinonimi
    
   by Niccolò Tommaseo

   (1830)

   **

   Sapore Sapere
    
   Italo Calvino

   (1982)

   **

   Taste as Experience: The Philosophy and Aesthetics of Food

   by Nicola Perullo

   (2016)

   In a well-known story originally published 1982 with the title Sapore Sapere (Taste Knowledge) (which in 1986 was changed to Under the Jaguar Sun), Italo Calvino described some itineraries of taste as knowledge and culture in great depth. In the Italian edition, the story opens with a long epigraph from Niccolò Tommaseo‘s Dizionario dei sinonimi, which provides further clarification about the original meaning of taste. This is what the Italian linguist wrote in his famous work published in 1830: “Tasting, in general, exercising the sense of taste, receiving its impression, even without a deliberate will or without thought. The sampling becomes more determined in order to taste and to know what one is tasting; or at least it denotes that from the first impression comes a reflected sentiment, an idea, the beginning of an experience. Therefore, to the Latins, sapio in translation meant feeling correctly; and therefore the sense of the Italian sapere [to know], which in itself stands for the right doctrine and for the prevailing of knowledge over science.”

   _____________

   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.

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