Hilal Ahmad Mohammadzai

ID# 200229707
Professor, Dr. Diego Lucci
Overeating, which is usually accompanied by excessive thinking about food, is a harmful practice.
The philosophers studied in the first part of this course – Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Epictetus, and
Thomas Aquinas – would all oppose overeating and excessive thinking about food, but they would
give different arguments against this behaviour. Choose three of these five philosophers and give ar-
guments against this behaviour that are based on their theories. Moreover, explain which of these
philosophers you agree with, regarding this specific issue, and why.

Overeating is an extreme indulgence of craving for food. In simple words, we can say that it

is the practice of consuming a large amount of food than what the body actually requires or can easily

process. This behaviour of overeating is usually associated with continual thinking and longing for

food, and a lack of self-control. While a number of, philosophers have addressed the topic of overeat-

ing, they have distinct viewpoints and arguments regarding this practice. These philosophers have

stated the negative impacts of overeating which can have physical, mental, and ethical consequences.

This essay will compare and contrast the perspective of Aristotle, Epictetus, and Thomas Aquinas on

overeating, and will also provide arguments regarding this practice based on their theories.

To begin with, maintaining a balance between too much and too little of anything is key to a

prosperous life. This principle also applies to eating, which is essential to find a healthy balance to

avoid overeating and its negative effects. In light of Aristotle's thoughts, virtue is a good means which

is keeping moderation in anything. According to Aristotle’s theory of ethics in his Nicomachean Eth-

ics, moral virtue develops through habits. Aristotle believed that moral virtue is the state of character

that allows a person to continually act in a morally upright manner, which includes acting in modera-

tion and avoiding excess. This means whatever exceeds is detrimental to human beings and their over-

all health. For instance, the practice of overeating is the explicit violation of moral virtue which result

in a variety of detrimental physical and mental health consequence such as weight gain, obesity, dia-

betes, heart disease, depression, and emotional distress. On other hand, deficiency in eating is also not

good for human beings and is also considered a violation of moral virtue by Aristotle. That is why he

has stated that "both excessive and defective exercise destroys the strength, and similarly drink or

food which is above or below a certain amount destroys the health, while that which is proportionate

both produces and increases and preserves it". Thus, we can infer that eating is necessary for survival
and pleasure, but too much or too little consumption can lead to health problems and social issues. In

addition to that, indulgence in eating can provoke human beings to consistently think and carve for

food, and they forget the goal of life and the true purpose of life which is happiness. According to Ar-

istotle, the true purpose of life is eudaimonia which is often translated as happiness, and well-being.

Eudaimonia is a long-lasting state of being that comes from living a virtuous and fulfilling life, not a

momentary feeling of pleasure or contentment like eating that fades away soon. To sum up, excess in

eating is a temporary pleasure, and it is detrimental to our well-being. As human beings we should

strive to follow a balance in life, and we should avoid both excess and deficiency not only in our

thoughts but also in our actions.

However, another famous philosopher, Epictetus provides a different approach to avoiding

overeating. He says that to avoid disturbance in life we should focus on things that are in our control

such as desires, pursuit, aversion, and avoid or let go of things that are not in our control like body,

property, reputation and et cetera. To illustrate, Epictetus is emphasizing the Stoic principle of focus-

ing on what is essential and rejecting what is non-essential. Epictetus states that " Provide things relat-

ing to the body no further than mere use; as meat, drink, clothing, house, family. But strike off and re-

ject everything relating to show and delicacy". This means that in terms of our physical requirements,

we should just give ourselves what is required for survival and minimal comfort and should reject

anything extra or unnecessary. To shed light, eating is necessary for human being survival, but over-

eating is unnecessary and should be avoided, because it will lead us toward physical and mental dis-

eases that cause disturbance in our lives. As a result, it eventually will also make us dependent on ma-

terial things and luxuries that can distract us from the real purpose of our life. Furthermore, Epictetus

believes that excessive attention to physical activity and biological processes indicates a lack of intel-

ligence, and instead of putting a lot of time and effort into activities that benefit the body, such as eat-

ing, drinking, and exercising, we should place a greater emphasis on growing the mind, or "the care of

the understanding". Thus, we can infer that we should not pay too much attention to bodily functions

that distract us from our more important goal which intellectual pursuit. Moreover, we should treat the

body as a tool that could be used to enhance our intellectual growth rather than as an end by itself.
Thus, by focusing on the intellectual pursuit we can reach self-control and self-discipline, and we can

have a more fulfilling and virtuous life.

Last but not least, according to another renowned philosopher Thomas Aquinas, being united

with things that are inferior to oneself prevents humans from achieving their utmost level of perfec-

tion or fulfilment. Instead, joining with something greater than ourselves should be our ultimate goal.

This means that eating is part of carnal or earthly pleasure which is considered lower than human

Beings, and it cannot unite human beings to ultimate happiness and the goal of life which is the

greater part or the greater end. Thus, overeating may provide temporary satisfaction or enjoyment

while in long run it can be detrimental as it will take us away from our ultimate goal in life which is

seeking perfection and intellectual knowledge. Furthermore, Thomas Aquinas states that nothing is

good in itself, but it receives its goodness from being moderate. Hence, this implies that nothing is

good unless it is moderate, so we can infer that overeating is not good for a human being and is con-

sidered a harmful practice for human health. To wrap up, overeating cannot bring pleasure to human

life, while true pleasure can only be found through a higher purpose that transcends bodily pleasures.

To conclude, all three philosophers oppose overeating, and they consider it harmful and detri-

mental to human beings. Although they have distinct perspectives and arguments regarding overeat-

ing, they all hold a common ground which is the exercise of moderation in everything whether it is

eating or something else. I strongly agree with this point of view, and I believe maintaining a balance

in every aspect of life is vital for our well-being. Particularly, maintaining a balance in eating is key to

a healthy life. Let us take example fruits, fruits are considered the most healthy diet, but they can also

be detrimental to our health if we excessively eat them. Moreover, overeating does not only put negat-

ive impacts on human being health such as diabetes, obesity, anxiety, and heart disease, but it can also

harm their social status and self-esteem. For instance, if human beings are not following a balance in

eating they may develop obesity which can also affect their self-esteem because they might think they

are not as attractive as before, or they may feel insecure about their bodies. Therefore, moderation in

every aspect of life not only avoids negative consequences, but also help us feel fulfilled and satisfied.