Dr. Shapin, who is trained as a sociologist, is the author of several fundamental contributions to the history of ideas and of modern science, as well as various themes on taste, dietetics, and the birth of gastronomy in modernity. Two of his books have been translated into Italian, namely La rivoluzione scientifica (Einaudi, 2003) and Il Leviatano e la pompa d’aria. Hobbes, Boyle e la cultura dell’esperimento (La Nuova Italia, 1994).
During the presentation, Dr. Shapin will address the philosophical issue of taste, in relation to dietetics, highlighting the relationship between its decline and rise of the connoisseur in the modern era.