Philosophy of Eating

Philosophy of Eating
Tatsuya Higaki

168 mm x 130 mm
208 pages
JPY 1,700
ISBN 9784790717119
Pub date: April 2018

Why do we eat pigs and whales but not dogs and cats? Kenji Miyazawa’s “Yodaka no Hoshi” and other familiar materials on food, the essay is a creative marriage of contemporary French and Japanese philosophy. This essay is a richly flavored work. A gem that approaches the hidden essence of food.

Points of Appeal

1. The marriage of philosophy and food
2. Unique food culture theory

Table of Contents
Menu
０．Avant amuse
We are killing something and eating it

１．Amuse gueule
Culinary techniques: Taste, Levi-Strauss, and decomposition

２．Hors d’oeuvres
Abhorrence of cannibalism: Taboos outside the law

３．Soup
Kenji Miyazawa transcending time and space: Cannibalism of life

４．Viande
Can eating be taught?: Learning from P-chan the Pig

５．Poisson
What we may eat/what we must not eat: The truth about dolphin/whale fishing and “The Cove”

６．Dessert
Humans eat poison: Alcohol, tobacco, and desserts

７．Petits fours
Philosophy of not eating: Fasting and anorexia

Afterwords

Reviews
“A light essay based on his own food experiences, but also a tasteful philosophy book that examines the contradictions surrounding food with the spice of deep thought” ―Mainichi Shimbun

“A work that should be read especially by today’s modern people who tend to forget the connection between life and food” ―VEGGY

“A thoughtful and tasteful essay about eating that also includes literary and film works. It is probably one of the most readable of its kind.” ―Yoshio Tsujiyama, bookseller

“The distinction between culture and nature, predator and non-predator, inside and outside the law, human and animal, and the blurring of these boundaries is a bad aftertaste. It is precisely in the realm of these boundaries that this book takes issue.” ―Nozomi Nagata, writer