CAROLYN KORSMEYER

Carolyn Korsmeyer

The writings mentioned on this site include both philosophy and fiction.

I am Research Professor of Philosophy at the University at Buffalo, and my areas in philosophy include aesthetics and emotion theory. I have a special interest in the senses that have been traditionally neglected by philosophy: taste and touch.

Several of the publications listed under "Books" address taste, food, disgust, and related subjects. Savoring Disgust: The Foul and the Fair in Aesthetics concerns the appeal of disgust when it is aroused by works of art (and even on occasion by foods). Making Sense of Taste: Food and Philosophy explores the gustatory sense and its aesthetic features. I also analyze gender and its influence on philosophical ideas in the book Gender and Aesthetics.

My most recent philosophy book, Things: In Touch with the Past, concerns the experience of "genuine" or "real" things, and the ways that artifacts can deliver encounters with times gone by. I argue that the sense of touch and contact or proximity with old objects lies behind such encounters.

For the philosophy books I've written and for edited collections, see "Books".
For a few articles related to these subjects, click on "Articles."

My novel Charlotte's Story is forthcoming in October. For a description, click on Fiction.

Carolyn Korsmeyer

Selected Books