Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Is Taste Subjective?

G. Reale, A History of Ancient Philosophy: The Systems of the Hellenistic Age, trans. John R. Catan (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1985) 318.

Timon was a Skeptic from the fourth-third centuries B.C.E. He stated, "I do not lay down that honey is sweet, but only that it appears to be so." Reale explains:

...honey does not have its own nature, and its appearance, if it is quantifiable by us as sweet, can be qualified in another way by another person (who does not like honey).

This position does not make a whole lot of sense to me, but I do wonder why two people can have different opinions about the same food. When they eat the same dish, is the taste the same in both of their mouths, only one likes how it tastes, while the other does not? For example, one person may like his cookies overly sweet, whereas the other may not. I think that's true in a number of cases, but I'm not sure if it's always true. For example, I absolutely hate stroganoff, such that I gag it out as soon as it enters my mouth. Am I tasting it the same way as someone who likes it? Is the same taste in each of our mouths, only I dislike it, and somebody else enjoys it?