Over a cup of burnt caramel ice cream the other day, I was presented a proposition that continue to bedevil me. This is not new to be sure, but it puts the question so starkly. If we like what we do not know, then can we consider such “like” real? To put it concretely, or mundanely even, if I like Brad Pitt but haven’t known him, then I really only like my own image of him. Is that real at all?
Ok, my first time posting somehow disappeared!
ReplyDeleteI think it will depend on how you define reality and knowing. If knowing is processing data and placing it within an interpretative schema, such data can be based on first-person experiences (e.g. actually meeting Brad Pitt) or second-person experiences (e.g. reading about Brad). And if you receive more authentic data about Brad, you will adjust your "liking". Doesn't mean that your first conclusion based on second-person data was less "real".
It is a very interesting thought... Need to think more about it!