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Preference and causality
Apr. 11th, 2006 08:11 pmThere are always reasons for preferences.
They do not exist in a vacuum, they do not spring, full formed, from the head of the prefer-er.
Preferences, even the most trivial, have reasons. Causes. Histories. Maybe it's as simple as "I don't like dogs because one bit me". Maybe it's as old and basic as "I like lemon better than apple because, way back during fetal and infant formation, there was a preponderance of Chemical X in my mother's blood-stream/milk, and that's how the stem cells developed into taste buds".
There are always reasons.
What everyone seems to miss is that, when it comes to personal preferences that harm no one else, we have no obligation whatsoever to explain the reasons. There's no call for you try to track down the reason you like sunrise better than sunset, or Sailor Moon better than Harry Potter, or women as lovers better than men--not unless you want to.
That doesn't mean the reasons don't exist.
.
They do not exist in a vacuum, they do not spring, full formed, from the head of the prefer-er.
Preferences, even the most trivial, have reasons. Causes. Histories. Maybe it's as simple as "I don't like dogs because one bit me". Maybe it's as old and basic as "I like lemon better than apple because, way back during fetal and infant formation, there was a preponderance of Chemical X in my mother's blood-stream/milk, and that's how the stem cells developed into taste buds".
There are always reasons.
What everyone seems to miss is that, when it comes to personal preferences that harm no one else, we have no obligation whatsoever to explain the reasons. There's no call for you try to track down the reason you like sunrise better than sunset, or Sailor Moon better than Harry Potter, or women as lovers better than men--not unless you want to.
That doesn't mean the reasons don't exist.
.
