Coffee - Philosophy for Everyone (eBook)

Editors SCOTT F. PARKER has contributed chapters to Ultimate Lost and Philosophy, Football and Philosophy, Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy, Golf and Philosophy, and iPod and Philosophy. He is a regular contributor to Rain Taxi Review of Books. His writing has also appeared in Philosophy Now, Sport Literate, Fiction Writers Review, Epiphany, The Ink-Filled Page, and Oregon Humanities. MICHAEL W. AUSTIN is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University, where he works primarily in ethics. He has published Conceptions of Parenthood: Ethics and the Family (2007), Running and Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind (Wiley-Blackwell, 2007), and Football and Philosophy: Going Deep (2008).

Foreword (Donald Schoenholt).

Editors' Introduction (Scott F. Parker and Michael W.
Austin).

PART 1 THE FIRST CUP: COFFEE AND METAPHYSICS.

1 Coffee: Black Puddle Water or Panacea? (Mark
Pendergrast).

2 The Necessary Ground of Being (Michael W. Austin).

3 The Unexamined Cup Is Not Worth Drinking (Kristopher G.
Phillips).

4 Sam. sara in a Coffee Cup: Self, Suffering, and the Karma
of Waking Up (Steven Geisz).

5 The Existential Ground of True Community: Coffee and
Otherness (Jill Hernandez).

PART 2 GROUNDS FOR DEBATE: COFFEE CULTURE.

6 Sage Advice from Ben's Mom, or: The Value of the
Coffeehouse (Scott F. Parker).

7 The Coffeehouse as a Public Sphere: Brewing Social
Change (Asaf Bar-Tura).

8 Café Noir: Anxiety, Existence, and the Coffeehouse
(Brook J. Sadler).

9 The Philosopher's Brew (Bassam Romaya).

PART 3 THE WONDERFUL AROMA OF BEAN: COFFEE
AESTHETICS.

10 Three Cups: The Anatomy of a Wasted Afternoon (Will
Buckingham).

11 Is Starbucks Really Better than Red Brand X? (Kenneth
Davids).

12 The Flavor of Choice: Neoliberalism and the Espresso
Aesthetic (Andrew Wear).

13 Starbucks and the Third Wave (John Hartmann).

14 How Good the Coffee Can Be: An Interview with
Stumptown's Matt Lounsbury (Scott F. Parker).

PART 4 TO ROAST OR NOT TO ROAST: THE ETHICS OF
COFFEE.

15 More than 27 Cents a Day: The Direct Trade
(R)evolution (Gina Bramucci and Shannon Mulholland).

16 Higher, Faster, Stronger, Buzzed: Caffeine as a
Performance-Enhancing Drug (Kenneth W. Kirkwood).

17 Green Coffee, Green Consumers - Green Philosophy?
(Stephanie W. Aleman).

18 Coffee and the Good Life: The Bean and the Golden Mean
(Lori Keleher).

How to Make it in Hollywood by Writing an Afterword! (The
Coffee Bean Guys).

Notes on Contributors.

"This is not going to be an impulse buy or something to
necessarily give to that special coffee-lover in your life, but if
you take the time to examine the book with an open, curious mind it
might be something that can keep you company with, of course, a
good cup of something during a long journey."
(Yum.fi, 2012)

"A delightful book for philosophically minded coffee drinkers
... Philosophically minded coffee drinkers will find the contents
of their cup enhanced by the contents of the book." (Network
Review, 1 June 2011)

"And so, the book devotes itself to coffee and philosophy from
varied perspectives, some seemingly frivolous, and others deeply
analytical . . . I suspect that the book will appeal most to coffee
devotees who enjoy lively conversation and see the world, as well
as that black liquid in their cups, from a dialectical point of
view." (Metapsychology, 9 August 2011)

"Grounds for Debate is a fantastic read-providing insights into
the coffee culture that even a tea drinker can appreciate. The
collection encourages readers to consider their relationship to
larger social practices that have resounding effects on daily
life." (Anthropology in Practice, 30 June 2011)

"This may possibly be the most unusual coffee book you will
read. Instead of just the usual history of

it, this is the latest in a long series of titles written by
philosophicalheavyweights, discussing subjects

from Christmas to cycling." (Boughton's Coffee House magazine, 1
March 2011)

"In interesting, educational, and often funny selections, we
learn facts both surprising (most coffee farmers and people living
in coffee-growing regions have no idea why anyone would want to
drink the stuff) and rudimentary. . . this is more sociology than
philosophy, but a smattering of deep (enough) thoughts from the
likes of Hume, Bourdieu, Kant, and others will keep true
addicts--of both coffee and philosophy--stimulated". (Publishers
Weekly, 18 April 2011)

"The book - a part of the Philosophy for Everyone series - takes
on all sides of the debate, historical and contemporary, over
coffee's meritstates." (Jezebel, ,14 April 2011)

"The book will also stimulate those seeking to understand the
aesthetics and ethics of coffee." (The Guardian, 14 April 2011)

"A varied compilation of musings on the beverage that has hooked
countless people since its discovery in the 15th century by
Ethiopian Sufi monks. The authors ... take on the history, taste
and ethics of coffee in 18 essays likely to elicit much dialogue
and debate. The book also includes engaging discussions of
caffeine's classification as a drug, the emergence of green coffee
and the evolution of the coffehouse into a public forum. A
blend of humor and thought-provoking content guaranteed to
stimulate readers' intellect." (Kirkus Reviews, March
2011)

"In this addition to an accessible and substantive series, 18
new essays, with coffee and coffee culture as their shared theme,
relay the relationship between the coffee-related contemporary and
everyday and the ideas and ideals on which the history of formal
philosophy has been built. Recommended for coffee and philosophy
aficionados. This entry in the series may well also be of interest
for book discussion groups." (Library Journal, March
2011)