Note, however, that not everyone agrees that caffeine is OK. Mormons, in particular, eschew caffeine, because they think it is wrong to ingest it.
Now, I'm not an expert on Mormon theology, so I could be wrong about that. But I think I am correct. The reason is this: when I was a kid, I attended a birthday party for someone who was in a Mormon family. The grown-ups made homemade root beer for the occasion. They explained that, by making it themselves, they could be sure that there was no caffeine in it.
The root beer, by the way, was very good.
Much later, I was mildly amused to learn that homemade root beer contains a small amount of alcohol.
Anyway, it is quite likely that the small amount of alcohol was too small to have any discernible effect. Perhaps it is ethical if you drink just a little bit.
That got me to thinking: if the quantity is relevant to the ethical calculus, is there some point at which a very large quantity of caffeine becomes unethical?
Notice the picture at the top of this post. That is a picture of a gentleman who tried to find out. He had gotten a coupon for a free drink at Starbucks. He decided to find out what the most expensive drink is. This is not a trivial task, because the various options can be combined in a variety of ways.
Eventually, he settled on what he thinks is the most expensive Starbucks concoction: A 13-shot venti soy hazelnut vanilla cinnamon white mocha with extra white mocha and caramel. It cost a total of $13.76 (with tax).
Comments
That got me to thinking: if the quantity is relevant to the ethical calculus, is there some point at which a very large quantity of caffeine becomes unethical?
A buzz has started on the science blogs around the world about the ethics of cognition enhancing drugs. I have seen the same baseline as you where caffeine is considered OK, but you do bring up an interesting point! I think it is just the start of a long lived, in depth debate not only being qualitative but now also quantitative! Happy Holiday!
Dave Briggs :~)
Posted by: Dave Briggs | December 21, 2007 10:23 AM
Mmmmmmm.... Root Beer! :)
And do you know the best thing about yummy root beer?
It is real.
Posted by: Gingerbaker | December 21, 2007 1:49 PM