If it’s the bitterness of coffee that gives you a jolt and causes you to be more alert then does this prove qualia false (although qualia can refer to the isness or quality of an experience which i think can be different to its stated isness or quality, although for something to taste not only reportedly bitter but also have stimulating effects you would think there would have to be a congruency between the two where the bitterness was causing the alertness by its very nature) as that bitterness would need to be common to all coffee drinkers to have that effect unless coffees bitterness and it stimulating effects are psychosomatic and possibly due to the power of suggestion , where by it was anecdotally reported that coffee was bitter and increased alertness and this perception influenced other people’s experience of coffee. However this itself raises questions of subjective perception and qualia. It reminds me of the time I ate anchovies on pizza without realising it and thought they were delicious until I realised there were anchovies on the pizza which I normally don’t like at which point they tasted disgusting to me. I think this is an example of the power of the subconscious mind to influence perception and possibly even neurotransmitter levels via that perception. But is this enjoyment related to the quality of the experience or something else ? Although if the coffees stimulating effects were caused by perception rather than a chemical influence then coffee mixed with milk and sugar wouldn’t have the same stimulating effect ? Unless that too is influenced by the power of suggestion and expectation ?
If it’s the bitterness of coffee that gives you a jolt and causes you to be more alert then does this prove qualia false (although qualia can refer to the isness or quality of an experience which i think can be different to its stated isness or quality, although for something to taste not only reportedly bitter but also have stimulating effects you would think there would have to be a congruency between the two where the bitterness was causing the alertness by its very nature) as that bitterness would need to be common to all coffee drinkers to have that effect unless coffees bitterness and it stimulating effects are psychosomatic and possibly due to the power of suggestion , where by it was anecdotally reported that coffee was bitter and increased alertness and this perception influenced other people’s experience of coffee. However this itself raises questions of subjective perception and qualia.
It reminds me of the time I ate anchovies on pizza without realising it and thought they were delicious until I realised there were anchovies on the pizza which I normally don’t like at which point they tasted disgusting to me. I think this is an example of the power of the subconscious mind to influence perception and possibly even neurotransmitter levels via that perception. But is this enjoyment related to the quality of the experience or something else ?
Although if the coffees stimulating effects were caused by perception rather than a chemical influence then coffee mixed with milk and sugar wouldn’t have the same stimulating effect ? Unless that too is influenced by the power of suggestion and expectation ?