Philosophers at Table

How are we to eat? This seemingly simple question is actually dense with possible interpretations, reecting the myriad, complex roles food plays in our lives. Philosophers at Table shows that this question can serve as an invitation to re-examine the conceptual scaffolding supporting our everyday lives. How might we reframe our ethical, epistemological and aesthetic understandings if we acknowledge that we humans are not just creatures with minds, but creatures with stomachs - if we recognize that Homo sapiens translates not only as wise man, but as tasting man?
Philosophers at Table draws on literature, myth, history and lm, as well as philosophy, to make the case for a stomach-endowed philosophy. The short story and lm Babettes Feast serves as the starting point for a discussion of hospitality as the central ethical virtue. A comparison between a fast-food meal in Accra, Ghana, and a ne dining experience at a Spanish restaurant dedicated to molecular gastronomy launches a discussion on the nature of food as art. An unpleasant encounter with a slug introduces a reection on tasting as a model for knowing.
In asking How are we to eat?, Philosophers at Table invites readers to use their relationship with food to investigate the philosophical underpinnings of their own lives.