Elements of Physiophilosophy

by Lorenz Oken

2604. During mastication saliva imbues every atom of the food, whereby the mass is throughout neutralized, or annulled.

Docimasy or Testing.

2605. The oral digestion or that of the mouth cannot, however, occur by itself, without its being a nervous process also. The intestinal function taken up into the nervous system is the taste.

2606. Taste is the chemism resident in the head, the digestion in the nerves. Taste therefore happens according to the theory of the digestion or the chemism.

2607. The lowest element of the chemism is the water, the highest repetition whereof in the earth is—the salt. The former is therefore the object of abdominal digestion, the latter of nervous digestion. To taste is to digest salt. In order to taste the salt, every part of the food must be brought in contact with the tongue; this is only possible through comminution of the aliment by means of the teeth. The mastication dissolves the aliments mechanically into atoms, just as digestion will resolve them chemically into "infusoria."

2608. That which should be digestible, must have a saline character, must be soluble. The tongue is accordingly the test-organ of the digestive process.

Deglutition.

2609. At first the tongue tastes only with its apex or tip; but after the salts which operate upon the tip are neutralized and examined, the tongue will also taste with its root, the two extremities of the tongue and their gustatory sensations being thus mutually opposed. It therefore takes the morsel upon the root and presses it against the palate, whereby the pharyngeal muscles clasp and swallow it.

2610. In deglutition the object of the tongue is not to give over or surrender the morsel to the pharynx, but to enjoy it "per se." During this fruition, however, it is robbed of it. Deglutition is therefore a result of an undesigned mechanical contrivance. Each organ works for the other, while fancying that it works for itself, which again it actually does, while it reaps the enjoyment so derived. Has the tongue finished tasting the food, then the pharynx obtains it involuntarily.

2611. To the saliva, and thus to a morsel, the acidulous gastric juice is polarwise related; both therefore seek to unite, and with this their organs also, namely, pharynx and stomach. The stomach obtains the preponderance, because it is acidulous; the pharynx moves towards it and with it also the morsel.