#869 Alexandra Plakias - Thinking Through Food; Metaphysics, Epistemology, Aesthetics, and Ethics
RECORDED ON AUGUST 1st 2023.
Dr. Alexandra Plakias is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Hamilton College. Her research focuses on issues in moral psychology, such as the role of evolution and culture in our moral values. She has also written about moral relativism and about the role of empirical research in philosophical theorizing. She is the author of Thinking Through Food: A Philosophical Introduction.
In this episode, we focus on Thinking Through Food. We start by discussing the metaphysics of food, what is food, whether something that is culturally normative is real, and whether properties like taste are objective. We then get into epistemology, and talk about how we acquire knowledge about food, and whether we should trust food advertising and labels, including things like “organic”, “natural”, “GMO”, etc. We talk about aesthetic, and whether food can be art. We discuss whether there should be property rights for the creators of recipes, and issues regarding cultural appropriation. We talk about the ethics of food, and how food production is ethically related to health. Finally, we discuss the future of food, with a focus on cultured meat.
Time Links:
Intro
What is food?
If something is culturally normative, can we say it is real?
Are food properties, like taste, objective?
How do we acquire knowledge (about food)?
Can we trust advertising and labels?
Can food be art?
Should there be property rights for the creators of recipes?
Cultural appropriation
How is food production ethically related to health?
The future of food
Follow Dr. Plakias’ work!
Follow Dr. Plakias’ work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/3A1ikAs
Website: https://bit.ly/3UAOoEB
PhilPeople profile: https://bit.ly/405X5I1
Thinking Through Food: https://bit.ly/43AKdg3
Twitter handle: @alexplakias