PRESIDENT'S ESSAY
Gastronomic Epistemology, 2
POSTED
May 27, 2010

Knowing is like tasting and eating.  Where does that get us?

If knowing is like eating, then we know things other by taking them into ourselves.  Knowing is a kind of participation, union, indwelling.  If knowing is seeing, we keep everything at a distance.

If knowing is like eating, what we know becomes part of our bloodstream.

If knowing is like eating, we can’t know and leave the world unchanged.  It will show our teeth marks.

If knowing is like eating, we have to get close enough to take a bite.

If knowing is like eating, then we have a first taste.  We may not like it, even though it may be good for us.

If knowing is like eating, then we can refine our taste.  Over time, we can tell more or less immediately whether something is worthwhile.

If knowing is like eating, we don’t become united with it without chewing, swallowing, digesting.

If knowing is like eating, things we know might poison us.

If knowing is like eating, knowledge is driven by hunger.

If knowing is like eating, the world is a banquet in which we savor what God cooks up for us.

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