The study examines the epistemological foundations, principles, and
limitations underlying vegan and halal nutrition. In this context, it
investigates the relationship between nutrition and philosophy from
a holistic perspective, encompassing the biological necessity of nourishment,
its cultural influences, medical boundaries, legal dimensions,
and sociological reflections.
It approaches the act of eating as an ontological ground that transcends
epistemic boundaries, shaping human understanding of self,
nature, other living beings, and God. The original contribution of
the dissertation to the national and international literature lies in
its ethical comparison of veganism and halal nutrition within the
framework of food ethics debates.
The first chapter explores the historical transformations of food ethics
within the history of philosophy. This part is significant as it traces
the ethical evolution of eating practices from Antiquity to the technology-
centered paradigms of the modern age. The second chapter
focuses on the epistemology of nutrition, examining how knowledge,
belief, and cultural meaning shape food preferences. It comparatively
analyzes the epistemic foundations, coherence, and limitations of
halal and vegan nutrition. The third chapter centers on the phenomenological
dimension of eating, investigating the existential aspects
of the relationship that humans establish with themselves, society,
nature, and God through the act of nourishment.
Within the framework of food ethics, the animal-centered philosophy
of pain in veganism, the meaning of suffering, and the fundamental
issues surrounding the relationship between pain and eating
are discussed. The debates on the meaning of suffering as an
existential experience are evaluated in this context. Accordingly, the
dissertation seeks to illuminate the human ontological position in
the world and the relational structure of existence through the act
of nourishment.
The study advances the claim that, in the philosophical sense of
nutrition ethics, nutrition is a multilayered phenomenon that determines
human beings ethical responsibility, the epistemological
foundations of nutritional choices, and the ontological horizon that
emerges through nutrition.
Keywords: Food Ethics; Halal Nutrition; Veganism; Epistemology of
Nutrition; Phenomenology of Nutrition