Page - 119 - in Reflective Cosmopolitanism - Educating towards inclusive communities through Philosophical Enquiry

CHRIsTIAN (MANUAL) 119 b) Some people have to avoid eating certain kinds of food due to illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, celiac disease, etc… What are the reasons for banning or limiting these foods? 3) Other prohibitions a) When people want to lose weight, they follow a strict diet and they stop eating certain kinds of food. b) Similarly, when people want to gain weight, they eat certain kinds of food. c) Vegetarians do not eat meat. d) Vegans do not eat anything that comes from animals. For all the three categories: • What are the different reasons these people have for restricting certain kinds of food? • Is there anything all these prohibitions have in common? • How are they different? • Do some reasons make more sense to you than others? On what basis? Discussion Plan: Are there things we should not eat? 1) Can you eat any kind of food? 2) Are there things you like to eat more than others? 3) Do you eat something even if you do not like it very much? 4) Is taste the most important criteria in choosing what to eat? 5) Is there any kind of food that disgusts you? 6) Could you eat it anyway? 7) If you go to your friend’s house for lunch and they serve something you do not like, do you eat it? 8) Have you ever taken medicine you did not like? If so, why? 9) Can you imagine a situation where you would eat anything, even things you do not like? Episode 11: Trainers versus leather slippers Leading Idea 1: Identifying principles When we say that justice is more important than freedom, that friendship is one of the most important things in life, or that a relationship makes sense when the people involved wish to be honest with each other, we are talking about principles. A principle is something different from what I like and wish for, although it may be something I like and desire. If somebody asks me why I have decided to go out with my friends instead of staying home and studying for tomorrow’s exam, I can answer that I made that decision because I like going out with my friends. Does that mean that going out with my friends for this reason is a principle? Principles are not what I desire but what is desirable (what I consider worthy, a value to be upheld), so in order to identify a princi- ple, we must ask ourselves if it is worth the effort and if it is desirable. If I say: “It was my best friend’s birthday and friendship is a commitment that I want to live up to, so I went