Why We Like What We Like

Central Argument: Often our perceptual qualities or preferences are not based on us but on popular decision.

How do we know what is tasty and what is not tasty when it comes to food? The answer is not tongue but the perception that it is good because others said so.

In article Why We Like What We Like, Alva Noë proves that our perceptual qualities or preferences are not based on us, but on popular decision. I strongly feel the same way because I see from Woodstockers’ attitude and many other high school students’ way of thinking.

Since “taste, we suppose, is in the mouth,” Noë makes an assumption that “if we can't discriminate taste just on the basis of what is happening in our taste buds, then, well, we are making the difference up.” He then proves this hypothesis with examples of red wine and white wine, and paté and dog food: “It turns out most people won't notice the difference between paté and dog food, so long as the latter is suitably presented with the right sort of garnish. And as for our ability to discriminate wine, even experts may confuse a white wine with a red when it is served at room temperature in a dark glass.” This clearly shows that we cannot determine the difference between tasty and nasty, good and bad, right and wrong when we are depended on taste only.

Woodstock food is a good example of such case. If anyone asks Woodstockers how is food, this is our answer: “It sucks.” We merely, simply, mindlessly say school food sucks because that is what everyone says. But is this really true? Is school food really bad? I personally think we say such things because it is provided in Woodstock. If Woodstock food is provided in a gorgeous Indian restaurant, we won’t at least say, “Food sucks.” Just because it is Woodstock food, it doesn’t mean food is bad. Such thinking is a wrong perception. Woodstock food is not that bad as how we say. I honestly think we are exaggerating too much.

Another example is a university. Many of high school students, including myself, desire to attend elite universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. Of course. They tend to have better faculty, better facility, and better programs than many other universities. However, one main reason for going to such university is because they are top ranking universities and they can help us to get a nice job. If such is a case, won’t we also consider going to Bluffton if we were told that Bluffton is an elite school and one of the best schools in the United States?

Now we should accept that gourmet liver paté is no better than dog food. We cannot nor should not say that paté is tasty because it is expensive and served in restaurant, and dog food is awful because it is dog’s food because we do not “notice the difference between paté and dog food.” If we accept this, then we should also accept that our perceptual qualities are based on how we think about what we know.

We, as a society, have to learn to appreciate the true quality of life around us more than merely following what.