Full Idea
We are not conscious of liquidity, coldness, and solidity, but of the liquidity of water, the coldness of ice, and the solidity of rocks.
Gist of Idea
We are not conscious of pure liquidity, but of the liquidity of water
Source
Roderick Firth (Sense Data and the Percept Theory [1949]), quoted by Howard Robinson - Perception 1.7
Book Reference
Robinson,Howard: 'Perception' [Routledge 2001], p.28
A Reaction
A nice point, but it might not be entirely true in a blindfold test, where one might only report properties like 'sticky' or 'warm', without having any clear concept of the substance being experienced. Firth is proposing the 'percept theory'.
Related Idea
Idea 4104 One can taste that the wine is sour, and one can also taste the sourness of the wine [Crane]