Eating, observes Kass, a physician and biochemist who teaches literature and philosophy at the University of Chicago, is a "great paradox.'' To preserve life, individuals necessarily destroy life. Yet, he argues, if this urgent, most basic animal necessity is humanized through table manners, hospitality, sharing, good conversation and ritual, eating becomes a means to celebrate and broaden human community, friendship and values. This stimulating, original philosophical inquiry views eating among humans as a key to our place in the natural order and as a manifestation of the "hungry soul'' that seeks satisfaction in activities motivated by ambition, curiosity, affection and awe. Kass concludes by arguing that Jewish dietary laws are one example of a code that embodies an understanding of the ethics of eating and a reverence for life.
Leon R. Kass is the Hertog Fellow at AEI.
Table of Contents
Preface Introduction: "Good for Food . . . to Make One Wise"
Food and Nourishing: The Primacy of Form
The Human Form: Omnivorous Erectus
Host and Cannibal: From Fressen to Essen
Enhancing Uprightness: Civilized Eating
Freedom, Friendship, and Philosophy: From Eating to Dining
Sanctified Eating: A Memorial of Creation
Conclusion: The Hungry Soul and the Perfecting of Our Nature
The promise of "healthy aging" offers significant opportunities for economic growth and development for Europe in the decades ahead--if governments and citizens are willing to grasp them.
