LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - On Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Lock Haven University will present "A Talk About Food and Philosophy.” Guest speaker Dr. Henrik Madsen will deliver this presentation at 5 p.m. in the Greenberg Auditorium. This is a free event and the public is invited to attend.
In his talk, Madsen will focus on the history of the Standard American Diet and show a scene from "Babette's Feast" while outlining an alternative way of looking at the moral dimensions of our culinary habits.
Madsen has organized his talk as a multi-course “menu” using the terminology of Italian cuisine.
The appetizer (antipasto) will provide a little bit of historical background about the kinds of dichotomies that have marginalized thinking about food as a subject of philosophical investigation. The first course (primo) will give a short description of the forces that have shaped the Standard American Diet (SAD) and some of the moral implications of SAD. For the second course (secondo), Madsen will use the Karen Blixen story “Babette’s Feast” to point out some limitations to the typical moral considerations about what we eat and outline a complementary view of why our food choices matter and what practical consequences might follow from this. The dessert (dolce) will focus on how to eat well and save the world.
Madsen is a former instructor at Lock Haven University and Mansfield University. Professor Madsen received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University in 2001 and a Certificate from the Center for History and Philosophy of Science from Johns Hopkins University in 1991.
Madsen’s talk is sponsored by The Ethics center at LHU. Dr. Joan Whitman Hoff, professor of philosophy and director of The Ethics Center, invites the community to attend.
For more information, contact Dr. Hoff at jhoff@lhup.edu or (570) 484-2642.