• Lionino
    1.5k
    Let's say you can take a pill once a day that gives you all the nourishment you need, the pill also prevents stomach and mouth issues that would happen if you don't eat/chew stuff like scurvy, it also prevents bad breath, but you still have to brush your teeth to prevent tartar. You can still eat stuff, but it would not give you any needed nourishment and would come with all the negatives of eating, the only purpose to eat therefore would be for pleasure.
    You still need to drink water to survive.
    1. Would you (8 votes)
        not take the pill
        25%
        take the pill and not eat anything else
          0%
        take the pill and keep eating like normal
        13%
        take the pill and eat every now and then
        63%
  • javi2541997
    5k
    Your multiple choice object reminds me of a dietary supplement. It can help me whatsoever because it contains all the nourishment I need. I guess I would miss the taste of food per se. For example, I would use the nourishment pill in this way: I usually take tomato with olive oil for breakfast every morning. Although it is a good combination to start the day with, I know it doesn't hold all my mind and body needs, so in addition to my breakfast, I will take a nourishment pill to get vitamins, Taurine, Caffeine, etc.
  • Tom Storm
    8.4k
    I am not a big fan of eating. I eat a couple of meals a day and sometimes just one. I enjoy 'recreational' meals but mostly eating is drudgery for me. If I could just take a pill I would love that. I told my mum this about 30 years ago. She laughed and told me that my grandfather had made the same point 30 years earlier.
  • 180 Proof
    14.1k
    take the pill and eat every now and thenLionino
    :up:
  • Vera Mont
    3.3k
    The preparation of food is sometimes rewarding; the cleaning up afterwards is a chore; the acquisition of ingredients is expensive and requires an effort, but not without its good moments.
    The sharing of regular, scheduled meals is worth the effort; the pleasure of good food is a bonus. Of course, the pill could be tailored to specific dietary needs - but is it? Dining out on special occasions is something to anticipate and cherish; the odd spontaneous restaurant lunch or picnic outing is fun.
    Medication is necessary, but I don't think we could make a daily occasion of taking a pill together.
  • Sir2u
    3.2k
    I'm with Vera on this one.

    :up:
  • Tom Storm
    8.4k
    Medication is necessary, but I don't think we could make a daily occasion of taking a pill together.Vera Mont

    I don't generally eat meals with others as it happens. My partner and I maintain separate homes - I could never live with someone. Fortunately she feels the same and it has worked for many years. We eat together 2 or 3 times a week.
  • Lionino
    1.5k
    Some folks said they wouldn't take the pill. I wonder why :chin:
  • Sir2u
    3.2k
    Some folks said they wouldn't take the pill. I wonder why :chin:Lionino

    If it was a necessity then obviously everyone would take it, But it is not, therefore why deprive oneself of the pleasures attached to the ritual of eating.
  • Vera Mont
    3.3k
    We eat together 2 or 3 times a week.Tom Storm

    Would you still take the pill when you're together?
    How about family gatherings at Thanksgiving and Christmas, or social events, like weddings and charity fund-raisers? Or just plain dinner parties with friends and colleagues? So many human bonding rituals are centered on the sharing of food.
    Many people would not want a pill, simply because they enjoy eating; some even enjoy cooking, baking and selecting ingredients, never mind the pleasure of growing vegetables and fruit.
  • Lionino
    1.5k
    But it is not, therefore why deprive oneself of the pleasures attached to the ritual of eating.Sir2u

    This is what I hoped would be brought up. When does it turn into hedonism? When I said "You can still eat stuff, but it would not give you any needed nourishment and would come with all the negatives of eating", I wanted to imply that you get all the negatives without getting the positives. Wouldn't eating then be like smoking or at least like drinking beer?
  • Vera Mont
    3.3k
    I wanted to imply that you get all the negatives without getting the positives.Lionino
    The negatives are optional. We can choose a wholesome diet and eat in moderation, just as we can choose to imbibe alcoholic beverages in moderation. The positives include far more than physical nourishment. Our bodies are constructed to use food: I wonder what would happen to the digestive system if it were deprived of substantial material to process.
  • Tom Storm
    8.4k
    Would you still take the pill when you're together?Vera Mont

    Yes, we often joke about what a drag having to rustle up a lunch is. I can see us popping a pill in the car together then going about our business without the need to disrupt our activities with a sit down meal. Wonderful.

    How about family gatherings at Thanksgiving and Christmas, or social events, like weddings and charity fund-raisers? Or just plain dinner parties with friends and colleagues? So many human bonding rituals are centered on the sharing of food.Vera Mont

    Well, I am a little different to some people. I don't generally attend parties or dinners. Last dinner party I went to took place years ago. But I do sometimes go out to a restaurant with a friend. I have already written that I would reserve eating for the occasional 'recreational' meal. So if I wanted to celebrate something with good food, I would happily eat then.
  • Sir2u
    3.2k
    When I said "You can still eat stuff, but it would not give you any needed nourishment and would come with all the negatives of eating",Lionino

    When I said it is not necessary I meant that taking the pill is not necessary because food still is available. So if I am not taking the pill I would still need nourishment even if it came with all the negatives of eating. But it would also have the benefits I mentioned

    I wanted to imply that you get all the negatives without getting the positives.Lionino

    You meant to imply but did not do so, so it does not count.

    Wouldn't eating then be like smoking or at least like drinking beer?Lionino

    Only if I ate and drank more that I needed excessively. But I would have a shitload more fun doing it than you would swallowing a pill.
  • Sir2u
    3.2k
    So if I wanted to celebrate something with good food, I would happily eat then.Tom Storm

    Wouldn't eating then be like smoking or at least like drinking beer?Lionino
  • Lionino
    1.5k
    But it would also have the benefits I mentionedSir2u

    The benefits being pleasure.

    Only if I ate and drank more that I needed excessivelySir2u

    Or you could take a pill and avoid every downside of eating (bloating, toxins, phytic acid, heavy metals etc).
  • Vera Mont
    3.3k
    Hard to imagine sufficient fat and fiber packed into a pill one could swallow.
    Today there are pills to provide the vitamins we need, which leaves just the pesky issue of caloric intake. An adult typically needs about 2000 calories per day, and even the most concentrated source (pure fat) can't make that many calories fit into a single pill.
    Another down-side: employers would cut lunch hour to 2 minutes a day.
  • Sir2u
    3.2k
    The benefits being pleasure.Lionino

    That is what life is all about, if you don't enjoy it what is the point of living it.

    Or you could take a pill and avoid every downside of eating (bloating, toxins, phytic acid, heavy metals etc).Lionino

    :chin: You forgot to include wear on teeth, wasted time cooking, having to use a truck to take the food to the shop, having to sit down for a few minutes to put food in your mouth, having to take a shit once in a while and probably a whole bunch of other reasons you should not eat. :smirk:
  • Sir2u
    3.2k
    Another down-side: employers would cut lunch hour to 2 minutes a day.Vera Mont

    Ain't that the truth. :rofl:
  • Lionino
    1.5k
    That is what life is all about, if you don't enjoy it what is the point of living it.Sir2u

    Pleasure? So hedonism? :grin:

    :chin: You forgot to include wear on teeth, wasted time cooking, having to use a truck to take the food to the shop, having to sit down for a few minutes to put food in your mouth, having to take a shit once in a while and probably a whole bunch of other reasons you should not eat. :smirk:Sir2u

    True, I remember reading that eating also damages DNA.
  • Sir2u
    3.2k
    True, I remember reading that eating also damages DNA.Lionino

    Sex to, maybe you could come up with a pill to stop the need for that as well.
  • Lionino
    1.5k
    maybe you could come up with a pill to stop the need for that as well.Sir2u

    Don't worry, the government is already on it.
  • Hanover
    12.1k
    I would only eat the pill if I could still get scurvy. It's the only pleasure I have.
bold
italic
underline
strike
code
quote
ulist
image
url
mention
reveal
youtube
tweet
Add a Comment

Welcome to The Philosophy Forum!

Get involved in philosophical discussions about knowledge, truth, language, consciousness, science, politics, religion, logic and mathematics, art, history, and lots more. No ads, no clutter, and very little agreement — just fascinating conversations.