Immanuel Kant’s Guide to a Good Dinner Party

Feb 11, 2011 by Farhang Erfani

On Kant’s view dining alone is bad for a philosopher: it encourages ‘intellectual self-gnawing’ that leads to a lack of vitality. Eating with at least one other companion, on the other hand, allows for a good interchange of ideas. New material for thought flows into the mind in a natural way, without any of the forced effort required in tracking down new topics on one’s own. As Kant puts it in Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View, the life that harmonizes best with our humanity is the life that involves, on a regular basis, good meals with good conversation. In such a life our need for nourishment, without being harmed or curtailed in any way, becomes an instrument for social enjoyment and philosophical thought: rest and reflection united as one. In light of this Kant gives us some tips to hosting a good dinner party (you can find them all in Anthropology, if you think I’m joking):

via Siris: Immanuel Kant’s Guide to a Good Dinner Party.