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Philosophy of Food | Friday, period 1

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."

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"Pan-fried salmon, or barbequed salmon head. Please keep in mind," he added as he squared the plates up, "that the head of the fish has much more nutrition, particularly prepared like this."

"The first one," Summer decided resolutely, taking a little nibble of the pan-fried salmon. "I mean, if I was starving or dying and needed the nutrients, sure, but since it's not an issue right now, I'd rather not have to look my food right in the face. I know, I know, blah blah blah, cognitive dissonance, it's still a dead animal, but it's a little less weird when it doesn't look so much like a dead animal."

Hannibal nodded. "You're conscious of that fact, which is a good start. Many people prefer that their food not resemble too strongly the animal that it came from. Why do you think that is? If you already know what it is, why would its appearance make a difference?"

"Because it's mindless," Summer shrugged. "You're not faced with the reality of it, so you don't have to feel guilt for it. It's like a person who knows fast food is bad for them, but they get a double bacon burger anyway. It's like, in some place, they started including calorie counts on all the menus, right? So then they see that the meal they were going to order is like 1800 calories, and it makes them think twice, while they didn't give a second thought before. Ignorance is bliss, even if it's forced ignorance."

"But this isn't ignorance," Hannibal pointed out, "it's...allowing self-delusion, would you say?"

"I...guess," Summer said slowly, but she nodded a little. "It's turning a blind eye, in a way. It's, like, sure, it's a dead fish, but if it doesn't look so much like a dead fish, we can kind of just...you know...forget about it. I mean, I'm sure some people don't even really care, but I think the majority of people kind of do a little bit."

"It varies across societies and cultures," Hannibal said. "But that in itself is interesting. It suggests that it is a cultural bias, rather than an anatomical one."

"That's a good point," Summer realized. "That's why some cultures are totally down with chowing on dog, but that idea's repulsive in a lot of other places."

She could think of multiple alien examples she'd encountered, too, but let's keep things planetary for at least one fairly normal moment in her life.

Hannibal nodded. "Horse is another. In some cultures, it is a staple; in others, it is a delicacy. And in some, it is forbidden."

"... I think Summer said it far better than I ever could," Eric had to admit.

And that would be Summer preening, just a little, over the compliments to her excellent cooked dead fish discourse. "Thank you," she said with an appreciative nod.

Hannibal smiled and nodded. "Then I'll ask you the same question - why do you think that is? If you already are aware that you're eating a dead fish, why does seeing its face make a difference?"

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Philosophy of Food | Friday, period 1

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