Synonyms
Introduction
What is food? Central to any discussion of philosophy of food is a description of what the term “food” can mean. One way to conceptualize food is by reference to its intended use, to look at the ends to which food is put. This is an explicitly teleological approach, by which a thing, in this case food, is made sensible by reference to the goal and outcome that a user has for the given thing. On the teleological account, an action becomes sensible by recognizing three things – the reasons that a person has for acting, their action, and the outcomes of that action (Henschke 2012, pp. 58–60). This entry makes sense of food by reference to the different outcomes that a person might have for food.
A specific case example of a specific food type, bread, is used through this entry. Six purposes for food are described: basic survival, quality of life, pleasure, personal relationships, cultural expression, and trade. Note...
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Henschke, A. (2019). Food’s Purposes. In: Kaplan, D.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1179-9_204
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