The Nature of Taste

The concept of taste in aesthetics had its origins in ideas about gustatory taste, and much was made of this analogy in the eighteenth century. Recent research invites re-examination of the relations between the gustatory and aesthetic concepts. Questions about the nature of taste perception, the role that knowledge plays in our appreciation of tastes, whether we can separate the descriptive and evaluative aspects of taste judgments, and the cultural aspects of taste, all raise interesting and important parallels with the exercise of taste in other domains. The time is right to explore a range of connected issues by bringing together a number of distinguished scholars working on different aspects of the subject. Convened by Paul Boghossian Silver Professor of Philosophy, NYU and Barry C. Smith Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Institute of Philosophy, University of London