What would the philosopher Kant say if he saw modern dieting?

What would the philosopher Kant say if he saw modern dieting?

If the philosopher Kant saw modern dieting, he would probably say this.

──"Humanity as an end transcends binge eating."

In other words, a warning that "simply being swept away by desires and eating to excess must not become the purpose of life."
No matter how hungry you are, no matter how many sweets are lined up before your eyes──
Humans have reason. Let us make meaningful "choices" rather than just following our desires.
That is the Kantian spirit of dieting.

Imagine it.
The master of German idealism,Immanuel Kantstanding in front of a convenience store in modern Japan, gazing at "low-carb sweets" with a serious expression.

Before him, a woman on a diet is holding her smartphone, calculating calories with an app, and muttering, "Maybe I'll just settle for a salad chicken today..."

Seeing that, Kant would likely mutter this:

"Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law of dieting."

There it is,the Categorical Imperative.

In other words, it's this:
"Can that diet of yours withstand being imitated by all of humanity?"
Protein in the morning, broccoli for lunch, only hot water at night...
If all of humanity did that, society would collapse. The convenience store fried chicken sticks would perish, and the ice cream section would become a void.

From a Kantian perspective, choices based on "human dignity" or "rational autonomy" are more ethical than personal desires (such as short-term weight loss).
In other words, he would ask, **"Is that diet consistent with reason?"**

"Do not treat humanity merely as a means for weight loss. Always treat it as an end."

This is an application of a phrase Kant actually said.

Seeing a girl on a diet standing in front of a mirror blaming herself, saying, "This belly is seriously impossible. I won't be a romantic prospect like this," Kant would step in with all his might to stop her.

"Your value is not something that can be reduced to the numbers on a scale."
"Humans are not merely a means for 'Instagrammability,' but a 'rational end.'"
"Therefore, making your 'current self' a slave for the sake of an 'Instagrammable self' is morally wrong!"

Surely, while saying that, he would offer her a bite of soy milk pudding.

"Beauty is purposiveness without purpose. In other words, calorie-free sweets are philosophy."

In his 'Critique of Judgment,' Kant stated, "Beauty is something that does not have a clear purpose, but makes one feel consistency and harmony."

Translating this into modern terms, it goes like this:

"An Instagrammable salad bowl is beauty. However, the structure that makes you want to binge on potato chips after eating it creates a moral conflict."

Kant argued that a balance between "sensibility" and "reason" is necessary for judging beauty.
In other words, "a person who can enjoy chocolate without guilt" might be considered a "Kantian dieter" who has achieved harmony between sensibility and reason.

Conclusion: If it were Kant, he would say this.

Kant was known as a "man punctual to the second," and if he were alive today, he would surely be eating oatmeal at 6:00 AM every morning.
And after 9:00 PM, he would undoubtedly be silently drinking hot water, saying, "Eating is now beyond the limits of experience."

To those of us struggling with the tug-of-war between reason and desire, Kant would surely send us this encouragement.

"Freedom of the will is the ability to see ice cream in the middle of the night and decide not to buy it."

Note: This article is fiction, and there is no record that Kant himself showed any particular interest in weight loss (in fact, he seems to have been frugal and conservative regarding food). But surely even Kant would allow us one "legitimate binge-eating day." Within the bounds of reason, of course.