Philosophy of Food | Friday, period 1

[sharp_man]

Hannibal arranged everything on the desk, then waited for the students to arrive, smiling as they came in.

Once they were there, he leaned against the desk and began. "Last week, we discussed what makes us see something as food. There are various reasons you may or may not see something as food that another person does. This week, the question is: Why do we eat?"

He waved at the food and drink behind him. "There are the obvious answers; most people will start with, 'we eat because we're hungry'. But it's rarely so clear-cut. Each section I've set up 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, and to ask me or each other questions."

He leaned forward. "Remember, there are no wrong answers; the idea is to think about it."

Comments

Second pairing

[sharp_man]

"Paté." Hannibal waved at the choices. "With fresh-baked, lightly toasted bread and garnish, or as a lump." He grimaced slightly at the latter; after the time spent preparing it, it nearly physically hurt to present it like this. "These are the same basic food, although the first does have some accompaniments."

Re: Second pairing

[somethingwithturquoise]

"That lump just looks..." Don't say gross, Summer, don't say gross. "...like cat food. I'm sure it tastes amazing or whatever, but isn't there a phrase that says we eat with our eyes first or something? So, yeah, those accompaniments make the first one seem way more appetizing than just..."

She waved her hands in the air, swinging her palms down as she stuck out her tongue and made an eloquent ppttthhh sound.

Re: Second pairing

[sharp_man]

Hannibal beamed. "We do indeed. So, it isn't only nutrition or even taste that is important - food can be about appearances as well."

Re: Second pairing

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Exactly!" Summer said. "If you hand me a food and it looks like a big old mess, it could be the most delicious thing I'll ever put in my mouth, but it's going to take some convincing to have me try it, because it looks so gro--" Cough. "Unappealing."

Re: Second pairing

[sharp_man]

Hannibal grinned at her self-correction.

"What if it's something you had before, and you know it's good - would you still rather it look good? Or if it's something you know you won't enjoy much - would a good presentation make it better?"

Re: Second pairing

[omgnochecksyet]

"Presentation matters," Eric decided, going for the option with bread and garnish. "Plus, it's a little harder to eat without the bread. Although I suppose you could use a spoon."

Re: Second pairing

[sharp_man]

"If you wanted to," Hannibal agreed, "but yes. Presentation definitely matters. How food looks is important, even though it has no bearing on its function."