Autumn 2026: Professor Steven Shapin | The Gifford Lectures: Beyond the Series - Food and the Moral Order: Past and Present The moral order still has a place at our dinner tables. Steven Shapin is professor emeritus of the history of science at Harvard, having spent the first part of his academic career at the Science Studies, Edinburgh University, and the next as professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego. His books have treated a range of topics in the history and sociology of science. Past work has included science in early modern England and in high-tech America industry. More recently, he has written about the historical trajectory of ideas about food, nutrition, and taste. His work has been recognized by the Sarton Medal of the History of Science Society (for lifetime contributions to the field) and (with Simon Schaffer of Cambridge University) by the Erasmus Prize (for “an exceptional contribution to European culture, society, or social science”). He is a Contributing Editor of The London Review of Books - for which he has contributed about 60 essays - and he has written for The New Yorker and other general-interest publications. Lecture Abstract | Food and the Moral Order: Past and Present The dietary order has always been part of the moral order, but the idioms linking them have historically changed.In the distant past, secular sentiments told you to “eat to live, not live to eat”, and Christian morality counted gluttony among the Deadly Sins. In traditional dietetic medicine, moderation in eating and drinking was the path to both virtue and health, and the cosmology of elements and qualities (hot, cold, moist, and dry) told you what sorts of foods were good for your temperament, while also helping to make your temperament, what you were like as a civic and moral being.That idiom is largely absent in present-day nutritional sensibilities: what is good for you is largely disengaged from what is good, health from personal virtue. Qualities have been replaced by constituents, proteins, fats, carbohydrates; eating too much is not a sin but a risk factor.Yet the moral order still has its place on our dinner tables, while the elements of that morality have changed. What is good for us may not be part of virtue, but our eating choices now bear upon what is good for the planet, good for the social and economic order, and good for the plants and animals that we either eat or refrain from eating.How have these changes marked out culture and our sense of who we are? Join Us for This Special Autumn LectureBe part of the 2026 Gifford Lectures: Beyond the Series at the University of Edinburgh. Whether you choose to attend in person or join us online via live stream, this event offers a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between food, morality and society with one of today's leading historians of science.The lecture will take place in person in Edinburgh and will also be live streamed for those who are unable to join us.Attendance is free, but registration is required for both in-person and online access. Click below to reserve your place.Bookings will open shortly. Oct 20 2026 17.00 - 20.00 Autumn 2026: Professor Steven Shapin | The Gifford Lectures: Beyond the Series - Food and the Moral Order: Past and Present The Gifford Lectures: Beyond the Series continues the historic Gifford Lectures tradition, hosted by the University of Edinburgh, with a programme of standalone autumn lectures that carry the spirit of the original series into new and thought-provoking areas of enquiry. The 2026 lecture features acclaimed historian of science Professor Steven Shapin, who will explore the relationship between food, society and ethics in a fascinating talk titled Food and the Moral Order: Past and Present. Edinburgh Futures Institute 1 Lauriston Pl, Edinburgh EH3 9EF Edinburgh Futures Institute This article was published on Thursday 31 July 2025
Autumn 2026: Professor Steven Shapin | The Gifford Lectures: Beyond the Series - Food and the Moral Order: Past and Present The moral order still has a place at our dinner tables. Steven Shapin is professor emeritus of the history of science at Harvard, having spent the first part of his academic career at the Science Studies, Edinburgh University, and the next as professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego. His books have treated a range of topics in the history and sociology of science. Past work has included science in early modern England and in high-tech America industry. More recently, he has written about the historical trajectory of ideas about food, nutrition, and taste. His work has been recognized by the Sarton Medal of the History of Science Society (for lifetime contributions to the field) and (with Simon Schaffer of Cambridge University) by the Erasmus Prize (for “an exceptional contribution to European culture, society, or social science”). He is a Contributing Editor of The London Review of Books - for which he has contributed about 60 essays - and he has written for The New Yorker and other general-interest publications. Lecture Abstract | Food and the Moral Order: Past and Present The dietary order has always been part of the moral order, but the idioms linking them have historically changed.In the distant past, secular sentiments told you to “eat to live, not live to eat”, and Christian morality counted gluttony among the Deadly Sins. In traditional dietetic medicine, moderation in eating and drinking was the path to both virtue and health, and the cosmology of elements and qualities (hot, cold, moist, and dry) told you what sorts of foods were good for your temperament, while also helping to make your temperament, what you were like as a civic and moral being.That idiom is largely absent in present-day nutritional sensibilities: what is good for you is largely disengaged from what is good, health from personal virtue. Qualities have been replaced by constituents, proteins, fats, carbohydrates; eating too much is not a sin but a risk factor.Yet the moral order still has its place on our dinner tables, while the elements of that morality have changed. What is good for us may not be part of virtue, but our eating choices now bear upon what is good for the planet, good for the social and economic order, and good for the plants and animals that we either eat or refrain from eating.How have these changes marked out culture and our sense of who we are? Join Us for This Special Autumn LectureBe part of the 2026 Gifford Lectures: Beyond the Series at the University of Edinburgh. Whether you choose to attend in person or join us online via live stream, this event offers a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between food, morality and society with one of today's leading historians of science.The lecture will take place in person in Edinburgh and will also be live streamed for those who are unable to join us.Attendance is free, but registration is required for both in-person and online access. Click below to reserve your place.Bookings will open shortly. Oct 20 2026 17.00 - 20.00 Autumn 2026: Professor Steven Shapin | The Gifford Lectures: Beyond the Series - Food and the Moral Order: Past and Present The Gifford Lectures: Beyond the Series continues the historic Gifford Lectures tradition, hosted by the University of Edinburgh, with a programme of standalone autumn lectures that carry the spirit of the original series into new and thought-provoking areas of enquiry. The 2026 lecture features acclaimed historian of science Professor Steven Shapin, who will explore the relationship between food, society and ethics in a fascinating talk titled Food and the Moral Order: Past and Present. Edinburgh Futures Institute 1 Lauriston Pl, Edinburgh EH3 9EF Edinburgh Futures Institute This article was published on Thursday 31 July 2025
Oct 20 2026 17.00 - 20.00 Autumn 2026: Professor Steven Shapin | The Gifford Lectures: Beyond the Series - Food and the Moral Order: Past and Present The Gifford Lectures: Beyond the Series continues the historic Gifford Lectures tradition, hosted by the University of Edinburgh, with a programme of standalone autumn lectures that carry the spirit of the original series into new and thought-provoking areas of enquiry. The 2026 lecture features acclaimed historian of science Professor Steven Shapin, who will explore the relationship between food, society and ethics in a fascinating talk titled Food and the Moral Order: Past and Present.
