Philosophy of Food Course Research Questions

Return to Philosophy of Food

1. What is food?

2. What is food culture and what is distinctive about food as a form of culture?

3. What does the "deep history" of human experience of food tell us about the place of food in culture and the problems humans have had with food?

4. How do "food ways" and gastronomy shape food cultures?

5. What are the challenges of nutrition science as a field of knowledge and what is the state of knowledge about nutrition, broadly?

6. What is a nutritious diet?

7. How did the US food system develop? What are some of its characteristic problems from political, enivronmental, and social justice perspectives?

8. How do our food choices raise ethical, environmental, and social justice concerns?

9. How do our food choices raise aesthetic questions and questions about subjective satisfaction? How does the history of gastronomy inform this question?

10. How should I critically assess my own food practices in light of my understanding of the nature of food and food culture?