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Coffee : philosophy for everyone : grounds for debate / edited by Scott F. Parker and Michael W. Austin.

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Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.

Coffee -- Philosophy.

Philosophy for everyone.

xvi, 247 p. ; 23 cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

"The world consumes 500 billion cups of coffee per year. Caffeine is one of the most widely taken psychoactive drugs on earth, and coffee is its foremost delivery system. Coffee: Grounds for Debate asks how and why we have come to prefer the infused beverage as one of our most popular drinks and how our chief indulgence and symbol of 'the good life' has become a source of full-bodied ethical, aesthetic, and environmental philosophical debate. Coffee has suffered a checkered history, and was banned from ancient communities, including Mohammed's Mecca, for its 'sinful' qualities. Pope Clement VIII once said upon tasting coffee for the first time, 'Why, this Satan's drink is so delicious.' It has been accused of having the ability to stunt growth, cause cancer, and weaken bones. Just as certain tropical plants have evolved with caffeine as an ingredient to protect themselves against predators, coffee has developed delicious and economically viable qualities that has allowed it to withstood and outgrow its naysayers. Drawing upon philosophical heavyweights such as Kant, Aristotle, Satre, Socrates, Wittgenstein, and Nietzsche, philosophers, journalists, experts, historians, and coffee insiders consider how the ethics of coffee agriculture, processing, retail, and consumption connect to the aesthetics, metaphysics, and cultural implications of one of the world's most popular drinks."-Publisher.

Parker, Scott F.

Austin, Michael W.

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