<< Destruction and recomposition

 Religion and psychology are much more aware that our perception walks between to different realities.

While we are indeed limited to a physical and objective reality, our perception extends beyond and into the abstract shadows of subjective value. This is in essence because of our mind’s incapacity to understand purely objective value.

Mere utilitarianist evaluation suggests that everything has objective value, which in a pure economic sense implies the play of market forces to determine the fair exchange rate for whatever we desire.

This is to say: Object= Means of production + Cost of production

Of course, this very simple fact quickly becomes complicated as we add, say profit expectation which varies independently of the objective value.

But even this is still a rather straightforward mathematical process.  This still doesn’t explain why we have luxury items though. Which by definition perform the same functions but at dramatically higher costs and it doesn’t offer any explanation either on why some people are willing to pay for it.

It’s in this little example of our everyday life we find the clearest example of subjective value: the measure by which our feelings, identities and desires alter the value of an otherwise inert object.

If we take for instance that this value can be created then we should also accept that the opposite is equally true  and that we can have value destruction.

Think of it like this: the value of a gift given to us by the same person changes in regards to the value of the relationship. Should the relationship end up in a downfall, the value associated to the objects in question shifts.

A gift from a friend is worth a lot, what your perceived enemy gives you is garbage (or at least we have not much of a problem parting with).

These invisible chains of value fluctuate continuously and in direct relation to our wishes, hopes and aspirations. This exercise of destruction and re-composition plays out more dramatically in the realm of mythology in which it seems the creation of value is in a constant shift as dominating forces battle each other for supremacy.

There isn’t however one act of destruction that doesn’t conclude in creation anew, Odin slaying Ymir, Chronos castrating Uranus or even more ancient stories such as Marduk and Tiamat.

Who knows why we have evolved to give things a value anyway. It’s undeniably in our nature to love, hate, wish for and admire and we pay for it (quite literally in some cases).

It was as true for the Babylonians as it was for the Greeks, the Romans and even for us today.

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