Page - 13 - in Limina - Grazer theologische Perspektiven, Volume 4:2

Editorial Food. Religious, ethical and philosophical aspects LIMINA Grazer theologische Perspektiven | 4:2, 2021, 11–14 | www.limina-graz.eu | DOI: 10.25364/17.4:2021.2.1en Eating and drinking are base requirements of human life, yet they are also an expression – if not the source of – social, cultural and religious identi- ties. Food unites us and food divides us. Table manners and religious dietary rules define and bond social and faith communities. Additionally, globali- sation has brought a new dimension to these cultural traditions of eating and drinking with a plethora of personal dietary lifestyles. However, even in predominantly secular societies, the fundamental link between food and religion remains. The response to our call for papers on the topic of food was so numerous that we will be publishing two issues (the second one will follow in autumn 20221) to showcase the breadth of submissions. Both issues on food explore religious and cultural contexts and the central role food and drink play in creating and expressing meaning in our personal as well as collective lives. Alessandro De Cesaris, Research Fellow at the Department of Philosophy and Educational Sciences at the University of Turin, opens the discussion with a philosophical perspective on food under the title “The Taste of Truth. A Mediological Approach to Eating“. De Cesaris proposes a “mediology” of taste to explore how a natural medium – the sense of taste – can shape human experience and which aspects of cultural and technological expe- riences are rooted in this sense. Focusing on Western cultural history, he investigates the scope of taste in three specific dimensions: physiology, aesthetics and symbolism. The aim of this philosophical approach is to un- cover the extent to which taste influences human experience. Gerhard Langer, University Professor at the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Vienna, shines a spotlight on the essential role food plays 1 The spring 2022 issue addresses fundamental cultural and socio- political tremors emanating from the Covid-19 pandemic under the title A disinfected society. Translation: Dagmar Astleitner MA PRISM Translations, London