What Ancient Philosophers Would Have Thought About The Carnivore Diet

The Carnivore diet is both an ancient and a modern diet. We have a lot of evidence that many of our ancestors followed a meat-rich diet, but this was more based on food availability than it was dietary preference. When it comes to modern-day carnivore dieting, many people are choosing this way of eating to assist with weight loss or other health ailments like poor gut health and autoimmunity.

So, while this way of eating has been around for a while, it wasn’t thought of like it is today. Regardless, one of my favorite exercises is to consider modern-day health concepts through the perspective of ancient philosophers and see if they are in alignment with what these often-balanced thinkers would have thought.

Let’s jump in.

The Role of Food

During the age of the most famous stoic philosophers, following specific dietary regimens wasn’t as popular as it is today (although it did exist). Thus, we don’t know exactly what the stoics would have thought about following a diet like carnivore.

What we do know about the brightest ancient thinkers is that many of them held profound views on the role of food in maintaining health and well-being. Their teachings centered around moderation, simplicity, and the natural purpose of food, which offers timeless wisdom.

Hippocrates, often regarded as the father of medicine, emphasized the medicinal quality of food: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." This highlights the ancient belief in the healing and sustaining power of what we consume.

Given what we know about the healing power of a carnivore diet, I think ancient philosophers would have been intrigued by the anecdotal evidence that is mounting demonstrating this diet’s ability to heal.

Focus on What You Can Control

We also know that many of the ancient philosophers were all about focusing on what is within each of our controls. Epictetus was quoted saying,

"Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions."

Epictetus was also quoted saying, "Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens."

I think, based on this, we can speculate that philosophers would view anyone following the carnivore diet to combat autoimmunity or improve digestion as a way of taking control of their health.

Dietary Simplicity

Many philosophers agreed that a diet rooted in simplicity is likely the best path toward health. Musonius Rufus advocated for a diet aimed at nourishment rather than pleasure and was quoted saying,

“We must not forget that the stomach itself is not an organ of pleasure but an organ of necessity."

This highlights the thinking that we should be putting in our bodies what makes us stronger and healthier, not what makes us weaker and sicker.

The Carnivore diet, with its emphasis on basic, unprocessed animal foods that provide your body with all of the nutrients it needs to survive and thrive, resonates with these ancient principles of simplicity and functionality in eating.

Discipline

Our food today looks a lot different from what it did during the times of ancient philosophers, and no doubt, the discipline required today to adhere to healthy eating is far greater than what our philosopher friends would have required (I don’t think they had a lot of doughnuts back then.) But I think this is exactly why these thinkers would have liked the idea of carnivore.

Stoicism teaches the value of discipline and embracing challenges, as reflected in Seneca's view that difficulties strengthen the mind. Plato was quoted saying, “The first and best victory is to conquer self.” Aristotle added, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Adhering to the Carnivore diet requires discipline and resilience. Especially if you are in a situation where your well-being is dependent on your dedication and consistency to follow this way of eating. Ancient thinkers would have appreciated this about anyone trying to stick with a carnivore diet.

Natural Living

Living naturally is a concept that you see pop up often when studying philosophy.

“Follow the stars in their course; if you do not, you will be as alien in the universe as a fish out of water.”

This quote from the Roman Emperor and stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius suggests that living in accordance with the natural order of the universe is essential for a harmonious existence, which we can extrapolate to a broader interpretation of dietary choices.

The Carnivore diet is about as natural as a diet can be. Carnivore is void of processed foods, full of foods our ancestors have been eating for centuries, packed with nutrients better absorbed by humans, and when done right, can minimize harm to other beings. The Carnivore diet is living in accordance with nature, and ancient philosophers would have loved that.

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Again, we can’t say for sure what the brightest thinkers from way before our time would have thought about the modern-day utilization of a carnivore diet. But based on what I have read from some of my favorite philosophers, I think they would have been a pretty big fan of this way of eating and would have had a lot of respect for anyone who needed to and was able to maintain it.

Thanks for reading,

Chris Irvin “The Ketologist”

P.S. The Carnivore Reset hit #1 in IBS and #2 in Paleo this weekend! Thanks to everyone who has bought the book so far. If that’s you, drop me a line. I’d love to hear your REAL feedback!