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The Hungry Soul: Eating and the Perfecting of Our Nature
The Hungry Soul is a fascinating exploration of the natural and cultural act of eating. Kass brilliantly reveals how the various aspects of this phenomenon, and the customs, rituals, and taboos surrounding it, relate to universal and profound truths about the human animal and its deepest yearnings.
"Kass is a distinguished and graceful writer. . . . It is astonishing to discover how different is our world from that of the animals, even in that which most evidently betrays that we too are animals—our need and desire for food."—Roger Scruton, Times Literary Supplement
"Yum."—Miss Manners
"Kass is a distinguished and graceful writer. . . . It is astonishing to discover how different is our world from that of the animals, even in that which most evidently betrays that we too are animals—our need and desire for food."—Roger Scruton, Times Literary Supplement
"Yum."—Miss Manners
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
25 people are currently reading
763 people want to read
About the author
Leon R. Kass
32 books58 followers American physician, scientist, educator, and public intellectual, best known as proponent of liberal education via the "Great Books," as an opponent of human cloning, life extension and euthanasia, as a critic of certain areas of technological progress and embryo research, and for his controversial tenure as chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics from 2001 to 2005. Although Kass is often referred to as a bioethicist, he eschews the term and refers to himself as "an old-fashioned humanist.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 8, 2021
When my mother was in the last years of her life, she would send me off to the bookstore with a shopping list: mysteries, travel books, food books, old retro favs and one !surprise me! This was one of those. I knew she'd dig the cover - it's arty.
She's been gone awhile now, and her bookshelf was taken down a long time ago, but her books are still circulating through bags and her progeny's homes. This one landed with me about year ago, and upon the first thumbing thru it was clearly not a recipe book, and looked more like a book on Artists Who Paint Food. Finally, I picked it up. It's not a thick book, so I thought, breezing through it will be quick, and that can be done even if it isn't particularly interesting.
I couldn't have been farther from the truth. This is a book about the nature of man, about his evolution to an upright state, or, in the alternative, his creation as an upright animal and how that has made ALL the difference. The author is brilliant, and that always requires me to slow down and digest, and this book was that and more. He focuses on how we are more defined by our need to eat than we realize, that simple point spreads into a 3 hefty preambular pieces, 6 chapters, and an inspiring conclusion. This is not about ART. This is not really about food, except as it is defined. This is about humankind, about the nature in us and outside of our sweet selves, and how we've changed and continue to evolve in how we relate to each other and the world in which we find ourselves.
This will stay with me for quite awhile, and re-reading is definitely an option.
She's been gone awhile now, and her bookshelf was taken down a long time ago, but her books are still circulating through bags and her progeny's homes. This one landed with me about year ago, and upon the first thumbing thru it was clearly not a recipe book, and looked more like a book on Artists Who Paint Food. Finally, I picked it up. It's not a thick book, so I thought, breezing through it will be quick, and that can be done even if it isn't particularly interesting.
I couldn't have been farther from the truth. This is a book about the nature of man, about his evolution to an upright state, or, in the alternative, his creation as an upright animal and how that has made ALL the difference. The author is brilliant, and that always requires me to slow down and digest, and this book was that and more. He focuses on how we are more defined by our need to eat than we realize, that simple point spreads into a 3 hefty preambular pieces, 6 chapters, and an inspiring conclusion. This is not about ART. This is not really about food, except as it is defined. This is about humankind, about the nature in us and outside of our sweet selves, and how we've changed and continue to evolve in how we relate to each other and the world in which we find ourselves.
This will stay with me for quite awhile, and re-reading is definitely an option.
did-not-finish
March 8, 2021This was rather boring to me as it was biological philsophy which wasn't very interesting. I think I will try agai in a couple years.
July 14, 2013
I was excited to read this book because I'm a big fan of "The Beginning of Wisdom" and I also like his collection on courtship and marriage ("Wing to wing, oar to oar" - with his wife, Amy Kass) but I found this book to be, while centered on one theme, a bit all over the place. His writing is always beautiful, and always enjoyable, but here, I felt like he was trying to fit various random ideas in philosophy into one theme, not matter how much he had to push the fit. Sometimes it works (I enjoyed some of his pieces in the chapter entitled "Host and Cannibal" - ie on food and hospitality, and understanding the stranger") but sometimes it didn't (I couldn't get on board with the whole conversation on form and material being and how he tried to get it to be tied to eating in Chapter I.) Maybe I'm biased, but I really really enjoyed the pieces involving biblical analysis - ie the laying out of how "the expulsion from the garden is coupled with a shift from fruit to bread" - (p211)and showing the development of man's relationship with different types of eating throughout the book of Genesis. When I read, it's usually for enjoyment but also with an eye towards usable pieces for class - and I think the entire last chapter on "Sanctified Eating" was great.
Again, the writing is beautiful - it's a worthwhile read - I just found myself skipping through a bit to look for the gems.
Again, the writing is beautiful - it's a worthwhile read - I just found myself skipping through a bit to look for the gems.
October 8, 2009
Kass's philosophical exploration of the human need and habits around food, seems to depend largely on Western, modernist notions of self-perfection through progress. Kass appears equates human civilization with virtue, (references to animals always being pejorative) and rarely accounts for the psychological constraints of culture and society that produced much of the manners/customs he seems to praise as progress. The book has intriguing arguments, but only in the context of a larger conversation about food and human/cultural identity. It's often hard to tell if Kass is asserting what he believes or merely reporting trends. As such, I found myself pushing against much of his claims, while not knowing if he was actually claiming the idea I was pushing against.
Perhaps his book is simply exploring questions that don't interest me. A very odd read.
Perhaps his book is simply exploring questions that don't interest me. A very odd read.
Read
March 31, 2021“However fleeting, partial or self-indulgent, the experience of taste manifests an openness to the world, tinged with wonder and appreciation.”
Dr. Leon Kass’s meditation on the human condition begins by investigating the most elementary constraints and facts of our existence. He asks how our senses, our upright posture, our feelings of hunger and satisfaction, our omnivorous nature, might shape our personal lives and culture, even though these questions are far from our everyday concerns. From these simple foundations Kass builds an intriguing work of philosophy: concerned with the ways that humanity has elevated itself above other forms of life, not through assumed superiority but through ethical necessity. At the heart of his argument is the idea that man’s omnivorousness demands limitation - that, for instance, we will not eat other humans. By tracing the proscriptions and refinements by which man differentiates himself from his animal nature, he attempts to draw a path from necessity towards ‘the good life’ and even the sacred.
Bonus: Kass’s fifth chapter is built around Isak Dinesen’s short story Babette’s Feast, a beautiful celebration of how a truly great meal creates the space for communion and fellowship. It was made into a lovely movie as well.
Dr. Leon Kass’s meditation on the human condition begins by investigating the most elementary constraints and facts of our existence. He asks how our senses, our upright posture, our feelings of hunger and satisfaction, our omnivorous nature, might shape our personal lives and culture, even though these questions are far from our everyday concerns. From these simple foundations Kass builds an intriguing work of philosophy: concerned with the ways that humanity has elevated itself above other forms of life, not through assumed superiority but through ethical necessity. At the heart of his argument is the idea that man’s omnivorousness demands limitation - that, for instance, we will not eat other humans. By tracing the proscriptions and refinements by which man differentiates himself from his animal nature, he attempts to draw a path from necessity towards ‘the good life’ and even the sacred.
Bonus: Kass’s fifth chapter is built around Isak Dinesen’s short story Babette’s Feast, a beautiful celebration of how a truly great meal creates the space for communion and fellowship. It was made into a lovely movie as well.
September 15, 2019
A fascinating read on the nature of eating and ethics. "The highly omnivorous rational animal thus stands in need of perfection through the guiding institutions of law, morality, and custom. We have explored here the direction such guidance should take if we are to realize the higher pointings and deeper yearnings of our peculiarly upright nature: pointings toward community and friendship (encouraged by hospitality and shared meals); pointings toward beauty and nobility (encouraged by gracious manners and the adornments of the table); pointings toward discernment and understanding (encouraged by tasteful dining and lively conversation); and yearnings for a relation to the divine (encouraged by a ritual sanctification of the meal)." Need to reread.
June 14, 2022
In "The Hungry Soul" I learned about a cultural virtue practiced by the ancient Greeks and described by author Kass as the guest-friendship, one thread of an elaborate network of relations or reasons for offering hospitality to others. A meal, once received, obliges reciprocity. The sharing of food was a matter of piety because Zeus himself, as the god of strangers, watched over these relations. And for the frequent flyer (traveler), the offer could just as easily result from calculation: one good turn would be the best policy if it could lay claim to another.
If you are interested in that sort of exploration into the natural and cultural acts inherent in eating, food preparation, or hosting a meal, you will enjoy this book.
If you are interested in that sort of exploration into the natural and cultural acts inherent in eating, food preparation, or hosting a meal, you will enjoy this book.
October 22, 2024
I cannot say enough good things about this book.
Although it's a bit of a challenging read, Kass breaks down and forces the reader to consider some simply and elementary aspects of what it means to be a being that feeds, and upright animal, a dignified human, and a creation that reflects a contemplates a creator.
Absolutely fascinating, well worth the effort.
Although it's a bit of a challenging read, Kass breaks down and forces the reader to consider some simply and elementary aspects of what it means to be a being that feeds, and upright animal, a dignified human, and a creation that reflects a contemplates a creator.
Absolutely fascinating, well worth the effort.
October 21, 2025
While Kass sometimes has a tendency to use longer or more obscure words than necessary (or even than aesthetically pleasing) he sets forth some very interesting and thought-out ideas in this book. The reflections on what modern science has taken from us, as well as how our eating habits reflect and elevate our humanity, are rich philosophical questions to consider.
August 3, 2017
On eating and the whole culture of food. Kass is Jewish and therefore accepts the kosher laws. But there are many great insights into food and our practices surrounding eating.
January 6, 2023
Probably the best book I read this past year. An extremely brilliant analysis of eating habits and how they can make us more or less human.
Read
October 9, 2023Finally admitting to myself I'm never going to finish this book. Seems like something I should enjoy, but just wasn't. I am not a philosopher.
March 24, 2018
La explicación aristotélica sobre el acto de comer en cuanto a sustancia definida por la forma y la materia es excelente. Sin embargo, Kass se empacha de moralidad al punto del ridículo. ¿Quién censuraría el acto de comer en público un helado? Eso porque seguro no ha visto a nadie comer un elote sentado en una banca frente a la iglesia.
March 25, 2021
I wrote several articles about my response to this book, starting with this one:
Any self-conscious emotional eater might take notice of a title like The Hungry Soul: Eating and the Perfecting of our Nature. I had the added attraction to the book that came from having heard the author’s warm and thoughtful voice on the Mars Hill Audio Journal as he was being interviewed on an altogether different topic.
Leon R. Kass, currently a professor at the University of Chicago, was appointed to chair the controversial President’s Council on Bioethics at its creation in 2001 and remained on the council until 2007, during which time he wrote Life, Liberty, and the Defense of Dignity: The Challenge for Bioethics. Though he is naturally called a bioethicist, he prefers the term humanist, because it better conveys the breadth of his concerns. Kass is also a medical doctor, but this is not a book about eating disorders any more than it is a cookbook — rather, it is a pondering of “the truth about our human situation.”
At the outset I must submit that there is no way Kass can tell us the whole truth, because he ignores Jesus Christ who is The Truth. Christ reveals the Father to us, being His “express image,” and He was the only fully human person who ever lived on earth, showing us as He did what man can be when he lives in constant communion with His Father as humans were meant to do.
Given this severe omission, one might wonder how I could find such treasures in Kass; I have to admit that this book has to be one of my ten favorites, at least of non-fiction, and the numerous notes and underlinings I’ve made in pencil and in red and blue ball point show how much I am still interacting with the material. Each time I read a section (with a different writing implement at hand) I find morsels of bread on the path leading in the direction the author wants me to go, and also see other lanes he probably isn’t even aware of. As I walk along I eat the tasty bits that have been laid out with care, wanting to race ahead to whatever is at the end of the trail, but resisting that urge for a while so I can savor the food and enjoy the stroll, all the while making note of the forks in the road and the byways I need to explore later on a return trip.
I really think I could come back to The Hungry Soul again and again and find more philosophical paths to explore, but if I wait to share my discoveries I’m afraid the tale will never be told. So I will begin the telling, even though I’m pretty sure I haven’t chewed on these ideas enough to do justice to what the most eminent reviewers hail as “an intellectual feast” and “a profound and brilliant exploration.”
Kass is Jewish and does reveal his belief in a Creator. He wrote this book to demonstrate through the human activity of eating that man has a soul, refuting the claims of corporealists that we are only material beings and that all our thoughts are nothing but electro-chemical events.
This introductory post is a good place to list the chapter titles or topics that I may draw from in future posts, though just the foreword, preface and introduction are the kind of appetizers from which one could make a full meal.
1. The Primacy of Form
2. The Human Form
3. Host and Cannibal
4. Civilized Eating
5. From Eating to Dining
6. Sanctified Eating
I can’t help but notice how the sights along this philosophical journey are related to other trails and books I’ve encountered, and of course I’ll have to mention those, too, in postings to follow.
As an example of humankind who are the crown of God’s creation, Kass himself is proof of his thesis. The fine mind and heart that are expressed in his writing testify to the fact that men were made in God’s image. And the reasoned and well-written arguments he makes, or even the questions he gently asks, are clear and flowing. It’s a pleasure to follow him when all the paths seem to lead me to God.
Part 2 – Struggle to Stand
Part 3 – How Science Disappoints
Part 4 – From Eating to Dining
This review is posted at https://gretchenjoanna.com/2011/04/12... with links to the other parts.
Any self-conscious emotional eater might take notice of a title like The Hungry Soul: Eating and the Perfecting of our Nature. I had the added attraction to the book that came from having heard the author’s warm and thoughtful voice on the Mars Hill Audio Journal as he was being interviewed on an altogether different topic.
Leon R. Kass, currently a professor at the University of Chicago, was appointed to chair the controversial President’s Council on Bioethics at its creation in 2001 and remained on the council until 2007, during which time he wrote Life, Liberty, and the Defense of Dignity: The Challenge for Bioethics. Though he is naturally called a bioethicist, he prefers the term humanist, because it better conveys the breadth of his concerns. Kass is also a medical doctor, but this is not a book about eating disorders any more than it is a cookbook — rather, it is a pondering of “the truth about our human situation.”
At the outset I must submit that there is no way Kass can tell us the whole truth, because he ignores Jesus Christ who is The Truth. Christ reveals the Father to us, being His “express image,” and He was the only fully human person who ever lived on earth, showing us as He did what man can be when he lives in constant communion with His Father as humans were meant to do.
Given this severe omission, one might wonder how I could find such treasures in Kass; I have to admit that this book has to be one of my ten favorites, at least of non-fiction, and the numerous notes and underlinings I’ve made in pencil and in red and blue ball point show how much I am still interacting with the material. Each time I read a section (with a different writing implement at hand) I find morsels of bread on the path leading in the direction the author wants me to go, and also see other lanes he probably isn’t even aware of. As I walk along I eat the tasty bits that have been laid out with care, wanting to race ahead to whatever is at the end of the trail, but resisting that urge for a while so I can savor the food and enjoy the stroll, all the while making note of the forks in the road and the byways I need to explore later on a return trip.
I really think I could come back to The Hungry Soul again and again and find more philosophical paths to explore, but if I wait to share my discoveries I’m afraid the tale will never be told. So I will begin the telling, even though I’m pretty sure I haven’t chewed on these ideas enough to do justice to what the most eminent reviewers hail as “an intellectual feast” and “a profound and brilliant exploration.”
Kass is Jewish and does reveal his belief in a Creator. He wrote this book to demonstrate through the human activity of eating that man has a soul, refuting the claims of corporealists that we are only material beings and that all our thoughts are nothing but electro-chemical events.
This introductory post is a good place to list the chapter titles or topics that I may draw from in future posts, though just the foreword, preface and introduction are the kind of appetizers from which one could make a full meal.
1. The Primacy of Form
2. The Human Form
3. Host and Cannibal
4. Civilized Eating
5. From Eating to Dining
6. Sanctified Eating
I can’t help but notice how the sights along this philosophical journey are related to other trails and books I’ve encountered, and of course I’ll have to mention those, too, in postings to follow.
As an example of humankind who are the crown of God’s creation, Kass himself is proof of his thesis. The fine mind and heart that are expressed in his writing testify to the fact that men were made in God’s image. And the reasoned and well-written arguments he makes, or even the questions he gently asks, are clear and flowing. It’s a pleasure to follow him when all the paths seem to lead me to God.
Part 2 – Struggle to Stand
Part 3 – How Science Disappoints
Part 4 – From Eating to Dining
This review is posted at https://gretchenjoanna.com/2011/04/12... with links to the other parts.
September 4, 2011
Thoughtful, nourishing, delightful study of how eating differs from dining. Through eating with others we grow more civil; the family table becomes a school for life.
[I]ncivility, insensitivity, and ingratitude learned at the family table can infect all other aspects of one's life. Conversely, good habits and thoughtful attitudes regarding food and eating will have far-reaching benefits. Self-restraint and self-command, consideration for others, politeness, fairness, generosity, tact, discernment, good taste, and the art of friendly conversation-all learnable and practiced at the table-enrich and ennoble all of human life.
[I]ncivility, insensitivity, and ingratitude learned at the family table can infect all other aspects of one's life. Conversely, good habits and thoughtful attitudes regarding food and eating will have far-reaching benefits. Self-restraint and self-command, consideration for others, politeness, fairness, generosity, tact, discernment, good taste, and the art of friendly conversation-all learnable and practiced at the table-enrich and ennoble all of human life.
February 18, 2008
I am reading it slowly, but I am learning a lot about how important it is to have norms for eating, an activity that occupies a significant part of everyday human life but is as of late considered a free for all. I am agreeing, but sometimes some neo-con elements sort of irritate me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2016
Technically I didn't quite finish this. I was about 40-50 pages from finishing it when I sold it. After many attempts, I just had to let it go. There was some interesting info in it, but it was quite boring.
Want to read
December 7, 2008Recommended in the book The Omnivore's Dilemma
December 4, 2015
"It seems there was wisdom in the apple after all."
January 14, 2015
reading everything I can by Leon Kass.
This IS such an interesting perspective.
This IS such an interesting perspective.
Read
September 24, 2014I did not understand too much of this book...
July 7, 2010
From eating to dining to feasting. This one starts slow but gets really good on the back nine.
March 26, 2012
An important book. Dr Kass is one of the brightest thinkers of our time....a very wise man.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews