What does it mean to "Like"?

First and foremost, I apologize for temporarily abandoning my post as a PURVEYOR OF ULTIMATE WISDOM for so long.  As it were, life outside of the blogosphere got hectic.  IT HAPPENS, KAY?

Rather than proceeding with my normal question-and-answer format, I will reflect on a profound realization I had today.  It came shortly following a brief quiz I took on Facebook:

My mom agrees with it, so it must be true.

As you might have noticed, I myself "liked" my own quiz result.  Note: I did not do this on purpose.  I did, indeed, like the fact that some entity out there thinks that I am similar to that classiest of Star Trek captains, Jean Luc Picard.  In fact, I love that of all the possible Star Trek characters I could have been, through many iterations of that franchise, I was Picard rather than, say, Neelix.

I will defend Voyager 'til the day I die but this creature is terrifying.

But back to the main point: I did not mean to "like" this quiz result.  After taking the quiz, a little window popped up prompting me thus:

"Do you like your quiz result?"  

And, as I have earlier stated, I did like it, and continue to, and shall like it until the last "Make it so" echoes from my dying lips into the chasms of eternity.  So in the interest of epistemology, I answered truthfully: 

"Yes."

And so when I looked at my wall, I saw that I had Facebook "like[d]" the quiz result.  Here's the thing: are they the same?  When you "like" something, are you saying the same thing as when you say you like something in real life, or is it something more?  My answer is no: while I liked my quiz result, it is not true to say that I "like[d]" it.  Facebook is a filthy liar.

How so?  After all, they asked me if I liked it, and indeed I did.  However, there are many things I privately like.  Prior to this post, I was very private about my liking of a certain Creed song.  It's very embarrassing for me to like a Creed song, because I would not want to be misconstrued as a Creed fan, or even somebody who is okay with the very existence of Creed to any extent.  However, I do very much like the song "One."  (Look, whatever, it's catchy.  That little guitar riffy thing is kinda nice.  Oh who am I kidding, this and my confession of Voyager fandom will sink my blog.)

Let's break it down.  We all like things that we wouldn't publicly "like."  When I like something, it just kind of means I enjoy it.  When I "like" something, it means I publicly endorse it.  I would "like" something like "Being a genius and awesome in general," because by "lik[ing]" it, I kind of publicly participate in it, don't I? Then everyone who sees it on their feed things, "Maybe she is a genius and awesome in general."  Get it?

So when the quiz asked me if I liked my results, it was being deceptive-- posing an epistemic problem.  I thought I was merely liking a thing, while indeed I was "lik[ing]" it.  But you can't accidentally "like" something in good faith, because to "like" something is an act of making a statement like, "I, the person liking this, publicly endorse it in good faith."  

However, I wasn't endorsing anything.  I was just a happy nerd.

It Isn't Official Until It's Facebook Offical: A lesson in epistemology.

Dear Ms. Inquiry,


I'm happy as a flea in a doghouse! The super cute boy I've been crushin' has asked me to be his STEADY-TYPE GIRLFRIEND!  My only problem is, he has not yet changed his facebook relationship status to indicate that we are neighbors in Smoochville, U.S.A.  Are we really official if we're not facebook official?  My friends say no but my heart says yes!  


Please help!  I seek your KNOWLEDGE OF A PHILOSOPHER,
Don't Stop Justified True Believin'


Dear DSJTB,

Thank you for writing in-- you have right to be concerned.  These days, nobody buys nuttin' if it ain't on Facebook.  To answer your question, I will have to use epistemology.

What is epistemology, you ask?  Well, for one, it is a six-syllable word sure to impress the easily-impressed types at a cocktail party near you.  Epistemology is just the study of knowledge, belief, and truth.  As the venerable Marvin Gaye put it, "People say believe haaaaalf of what you see, son and nooooone of what you hear."

For more of Gaye's philosophical output, see "Let's Get it On," an ethical inquiry into gettin' it on

However, is something necessarily untrue simply because you "Heard It Through the Grapevine"?  According to one theory of epistemology, called consensus collectivism, the answer is a resounding NOPE.  According to consensus collectivism, if there is consensus about a given belief, that belief is true.  Which means that Justin Bieber is, objectively, a fine musician.

These days, Facebook is just about the highest standard of consensus.  Everyone's got one, and in fact I have just added your gramma as a friend before you did.  Cold.  So if it ain't on facebook, I have no idea whether you are, indeed, dating the Monarch of Makeouts, or if he's just another artifact in your Vault of Imaginary Friends, right next to your old flying unicorn named Riker.

The conclusion: Facebook is the contemporary standard of consensus truth.  Remember that time everyone was posting that the Pants on the Ground guy was dead?  Well, Virginia, for a brief moment in time, according to Philosophy(TM), the PotG guy was, indeed, dead, and brought back to life by those brave souls choosing to expose, via their F'book statuses, that his death was untrue.  That time you accidentally "liked" The Last Airbender when your cat stepped on your keyboard?  Oh yea, you liked it for real.  Gaze upon the horror that is reality, my friend.

Sorry to break it to ya, DSJTB, but according to consensus collectivism, you are more single than yellow slices of Kraft.  But once you guys are Facebook official, I will be sure to like it.  And know that when I click "like," it means I'll really have liked it.  Even if I didn't think I did.

Hope that helps,
Yours In Inquiry