The Atkins Diet and Philosophy: Chewing the Fat with Kant and Nietzsche

By George Albert Brown

Book Overview

The Atkins diet has transformed the lives of millions of people, revolutionizing grocery store shelves, restaurant menus, and dinner-table conversations. But there are questions beyond its efficacy and longevity. Is the Atkins diet a new wrinkle in capitalist exploitation or a twisted expression of negative body images? Is it a symbol of super-masculinity? Has the Atkins diet really been around for centuries under other names? Can it increase intelligence, or cause global warming and melt the polar ice caps? How does Atkins fit into Kant's conception of the moral life, or Rousseau's vision of a kinder, gentler human society? The Atkins Diet and Philosophy wittily explores these and other pressing questions in sixteen entertaining essays. Following the same fun, readable approach as earlier volumes in this series, this book uses philosophy to put the Atkins diet under the microscope, and uses the Atkins diet to teach vital philosophical lessons for life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812695844
• ISBN13: 9780812695847
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Open Court
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

It's more philosophical observation than diet plan

Sixteen essays by contributors who add a dose of philosophical reflection into the Atkins diet controversy will appeal to both pro and con diet readers. They come from practitioners of the diet, those not on it, and those who want little to do with it. It's more philosophical observation than diet plan - but any interested in Atkins and philosophy alike will find here an intriguing ability to link philosophical thinking to modern culture. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch