The Philosophy of Food | Wednesday, 3rd Period

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal arranged everything on the desk carefully, then sat and waited for everyone to arrive.

Once they were there, he nodded. "We discussed last week what makes something food, why some things are or aren't. This week, we have another question. Why do we eat?"

He waved at the food and drink. "There are the obvious answers; most people will say, 'we eat because we're hungry'. But it is rarely so clear-cut. Each section here is a pair of foods. You may eat or drink only one from each pair. Choose one - or neither - and explain to us why. Feel free to debate it with each other as well. Feel free to ask me or each other questions."

He leaned forward. "Remember, there are no wrong answers; it's the reasoning we're after."

Comments

Re: Third pairing!

[never-dull.livejournal.com]

"It is a modern and largely Western bias to prefer food not to look like live animals," Hannibal pointed out. "You are not alone in that. What makes it unsettling?"

Re: Third pairing!

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

"I think we prefer to pretend that the food hadn't been an animal once it gets to the plate," Rilla said. "Maybe that's why we have other words for pork and beef. We don't have a lovely platter of cow."

Re: Third pairing!

[never-dull.livejournal.com]

"Yet you clearly are aware that it was an animal; if you ask someone what their steak is made of, they will instantly say it's beef." Even sometimes when it wasn't. "So, why pretend, do you think?"