Why we like what we like

“Why We Like What We Like” by Alva Noë

Central Argument: We like what we like not because of our senses but because of the idea and concept of it.

I agree with Alva Noë with her opinion on why we like what we like. There are many time when I realized that I ate something that I don’t really like without even realizing it. When we see things we think back to the experiences we had with that thing and therefore we form an opinion about it relating it to the taste of it. We think we don’t like certain foods because of the taste of it, however, this has nothing to do with taste. It is to do with the idea and the concept of it. We like what we like based not on our senses but rather the idea and concept of it and the experiences we have with it.

            When I was in Elementary school, my teacher for some reason told me to go home and slice a tomato and eat it with pepper sprinkled on top. The way she described it made me do it.  Although the tomato tasted fine, that night I threw up that entire tomato and I got really sick. Since then I have despised tomatoes. Although when my mom feeds me while I am watching the television I eat everything she feeds me. I am too engaged with what is happening in the television that I don’t even realize that she fed me tomatoes. This proves that the taste of tomatoes don’t really matter for me. It is because I threw up once right after eating tomatoes that I hate tomatoes for good. I hate the idea of tomatoes not the taste of it.

            My uncle told me a very amusing story about a Brahmin. Brahmins are all strict vegetarians but they eat eggs. So my uncle went with his Brahmin friend to a restaurant. My uncle ate non vegetarian dished and was desperately trying to get the Brahmin to eat it and just try it once. He obviously said no. So my uncle decided to play dirty. He ordered goat brains which tasted like scrambled eggs. He ordered that dish for his friend without him knowing what it really was. The Brahmin ate everything. He even praised the dish when he was asked how it was. After they left the restaurant my uncle told him what he really ate. He was shocked, and he immediately started finding faults with that dish which didn’t exist when he didn’t know what it really was. This proves the fact that we like what we like not because our senses tell us so but because of the idea of it. The Brahmin like the dish when he thought it was scrambled eggs, but as soon as he found out it wasn’t he disliked. This dislike had nothing to do with the taste of the dish; it had to do with the idea of the dish.

            When we like the idea of a dish we immediately like the dish itself. This is not only with food. This can be case with names as well. The book Thank You For Arguing, by Jay Hienrichs, has Homer Simpsons, Aristotle, and Eminem’s names on the cover. When I saw these names I judged the book and thought it will be really cool. After I started reading I was convincing myself that the book was good when I clearly knew that I was getting tired and bored of it. What Alva Noë says in her article is true. We don’t realize the real reason we like what we like because it is never said out loud.