Testing Philosophy with Cake

Lower Sixth R&P students have taken Alasdair MacIntyre at his word this term — and into the kitchen.

Tasked with testing his critique of utilitarianism — that “the notion of human happiness is not a unitary, simple notion and cannot provide us with a criterion for making our key choices” — students have embarked on a multi-week empirical investigation involving flour, sugar, and some surprisingly competitive icing strategies.

Each week, a new cake is judged on three supposedly “objective” criteria: texture, flavour, and appearance. Simple? Not quite. What produces bliss for one judge produces bafflement for another. Buttercream divides. Ganache causes controversy. Sponge density has become a matter of near-metaphysical debate.

At the midway point of the experiment, MacIntyre appears vindicated: happiness stubbornly refuses to be unitary.

That said, Noah’s Immanuel Kant–themed lemon curd cupcakes achieved something approaching categorical approval — though whether this was due to their intrinsic goodness or universalizable icing principles remains contested.

The standard this year has been extraordinarily high, placing increasing pressure on an understandably anxious Mr Baker, who is due to provide cakes next week, and is currently relying on nominative determinism to compensate for what he describes as “limited practical ability.”

Further findings (and possibly crumbs) to follow...