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TheAestheticValueoftheWorld
TheAestheticValue oftheWorld
TOMCOCHRANE
GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP, UnitedKingdom
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©TomCochrane2021
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3.5Theidentificationmodel65
3.6Perceivingpower69
3.7Re-introducingself-negation71
3.8Acommoncore73
4.TheDramatic75
4.1Everydaydrama75
4.2Narrativedrama76
4.3Musicaldrama78
4.4Dramaticappearances81
4.5Richexperience83
4.6Attentionand flow85
4.7Objectifyingdrama89
4.8Adramaticlife93
5.TheTragic97
5.1Tragic fictions97
5.2Thecosmicperspective100
5.3Acknowledgement102
5.4Theartisticperspective104
5.5Sympatheticvalue108
5.6Anonymoussufferers111
5.7Badpeople112
5.8Sympatheticobjects115
6.TheComic117
6.1Thetask117
6.2Definingincongruity118
6.3Amusingincongruities122
6.4Non-seriousness124
6.5Dealingwithcounter-examples128
6.6Timing131
6.7Thevalueofhumour134
6.8Profundity137
7.InDefenceofAestheticism140
7.1Thevalueoftheworld140
7.2Augustine ’sAestheticism141
7.3Nietzsche’sAestheticism144
7.4Theaestheticistattitude146
7.5Thepositivelyugly152
7.6Objectivity156
7.7Selectivityandjadedness158
7.8Passivity160
Acknowledgements
Aestheticideascantakealongtimetocometofruition.Manypeoplehave helpedmetograduallydeveloptheviewsIdefendinthisbook.Ithinkthe mostimportantinfluencehasbeenthehundredsofstudentswhohavetaken aestheticsclasseswithmeovertheyearsinNottingham,Belfast,Sheffield, andFlinders.GregCurriehasalsobeenacontinualsourceofsupportsince hesupervisedmyPhDoveradecadeago,andanenduringmodelofhow aestheticsisdonewell.Morerecently,ImustthankFilippoContesiand othermembersoftheLOGOSgroupinBarcelonaforthegrillingtheygave meonmyAestheticistposition.AlsoSophie-GraceChappellforcomments, andthereadersfromOxfordUniversityPress PanosParisandAlan Goldman fortheirhelpfulandencouragingreportsontheentiredraft. OtherpeoplewhohavehelpedmealongthewayareMalcolmBudd,Cain Todd,PatriziaLombardo,EmilyBrady,MaríaJoséAlcarazLeón,Rob Hopkins,AaronMeskin,NickZangwill,MirandaFricker,Alex Grzankowski,JérômeDokic,MargheritaArcangeli,ChristophSeibert, JenniferMcMahon,VíctorDurà-Vilà,NickRiggle,andAngéWeinrabe. ThankstoPeterMomtchiloffandtheteamatOxfordUniversityPressfor seeingthisbookthroughtheproductionprocess.Finally,thankstoAlun Hughesforteachingmemanyyearsagothat ‘EverythingIsOriginal’ , thoughI’mnotsurehe’drecognizethemutantchildthattwenty-fiveyears ofgestatingthisprinciplehasproducedhere.
Note:Chapter3re-usesmaterialwithpermissionfromCochrane, T.(2012).Theemotionalexperienceofthesublime. CanadianJournalof Philosophy 42(2),125‒48.Chapter6re-usesmaterialwithpermissionfrom Cochrane,T.(2017).Nohugging,nolearning:Thelimitationsofhumour. BritishJournalofAesthetics,57(1),51‒66.
Preface
Aestheticvaluemakestheworldworthwhile.Thisisbecausetheentire worldisaestheticallyvaluable,whileitisfairlywretchedinotherrespects. Sowithoutaestheticvalue,wecannotproperlyvaluetheworld.Andifwe cannotvaluetheworld,ourlivesareimmeasurablypoorer.
Withsomehistoricalprecedent,wecancallthisview ‘Aestheticism’.Note thatitisnottobeconfusedwithanotherviewsometimescalled Aestheticismwhichclaimsthattheaestheticvalueofanartworkisindependentfromitsethicalvalue(bettercalled ‘aestheticautonomism’).The viewsaresomewhatrelated.Bothemphasizevaluingthingsfortheirown sake,sometimesintheteethofethicaldisvalue.ButAestheticismisonly partiallyconcernedwithartworks;itismorewhollyconcernedwiththe world.
Aestheticismshouldalsonotbeconfusedwith ‘positiveaesthetics’ . Positiveaestheticsistheviewthatallpristinenatureisaestheticallygood. Insofarasbothviews findaestheticvalueinnature,positiveaesthetics overlapswithAestheticism.ButAestheticismisfarbroader.Itisclaiming thatnotjustpristinenature,but everything isaestheticallyvaluable,eventhe polluted,artificial,anddisgustingparts.
ThusAestheticismisquiteastrongview.Ithinkthatmostpeople,when theyunderstandwhataestheticvalueis,willacknowledgethatitmakesa significantcontributiontotheirlives.Yetaestheticvalueishardlyever articulatedinthecomprehensivewayIamaimingforhere.Ieventhink thatthepursuitofaestheticvaluecanbeagenuinephilosophyoflifeona parwithphilosophiessuchasStoicism,Epicureanism,orExistentialism.
HowdoIhopetojustifysuchaview?Inanimportantsense,mystrategy ispluralist.Thereisnotjustoneaestheticvalue,butmany.Inparticular, Iamnottryingtoclaimthateverythingisbeautiful.Beautyisamajor aestheticvalue,butifwetrytopiletoomanythingsintothiscategory,we endupwithathinconceptaboutwhichverylittleofsubstancecanbesaid. Instead,mystrategyistogiverichaccountsofasmanyaestheticvaluesas Icanbear,whereverIthinkthatsomedistinctivepsychologicalreceptivity canbeidentified.Itisthesumtotalofthesepsychologicalresourcesthat allowsustoaestheticallyvalueeverything.
Thusthemainbodyofthisworkisconcernedwithunderstandingthe variousaestheticvalues.Thiswillgenerallybeamatterofanalysingthe psychologicalprocessesthatallowustoexperiencethem(i.e.theywillbe response-basedanalyses).Theseanalysesarehopefullyofindependent interestandplausibility.However,themainsignificancetheyhaveforme isthattheyallowmeto fleshouttheaestheticworldview.Bysystematically investigatingthesedifferentaestheticvalues,thereadershouldgradually cometoseehoweverythingcanbeaestheticallyappreciated.
Theplanofthebookisasfollows:IntheIntroduction,Ioutlinewhywe needto findvalueintheworld,andwhyaestheticvalueisthebestcandidate. Basically,whenourlivesaregoingbadly,thevalueoftheworldofferssolace andthegroundstorebuild.Meanwhileaestheticvalue,unlikemoralvalue, offersadefinitepositivevalue.
Chapter1thendevelopsafoundationalaccountofaestheticvaluein general.Ianalyseaestheticvalueas ‘objectified finalvalue’.It’snotonly thatwe can aestheticallyvaluetheworld,butthatweonlyreallyvaluethe worldinitsownrightbymeansofaestheticvalue.Ithenunderwritethis analysiswithakeypsychologicalclaim;thataestheticvaluesare ‘distal versions’ ofpracticalvalues(section1.4).Moreover,theintensityofeach aestheticvaluerestsonan ‘essentialtension’ (section1.5)whereapsychologicalrewardisbalancedagainstachallenge.Finally,Iarguethatmy characterizationdemandsarealist,object-focused(ratherthanexperiencefocused)modelofaestheticvalue.
Chapters2‒6developdetailedaccountsofwhatItaketobethemost significantaestheticvalues.IntheAppendix,Iofferbriefaccountsofsome minoraestheticvalues(pluseroticvalue,whichisreallyamajoraesthetic valuebutwhichI’mtooprudishtowriteanentirechapterabout).These accountsaredesignedto fitwiththegeneralcharacterizationofaesthetic valueofferedinChapter1.Inparticular,Isystematicallyapplytheideathat aestheticvaluesaredistalversionsofpracticalvalues.
Istart,inChapter2,withbeauty.Mymainideahereistolinkthevaluewe takeinbeautywithourpracticaldriveforknowledge.Idevelopthisasan alternativetothecontemporary ‘processing fluency ’ accountofaesthetic pleasure.Ithenconsiderthenatureofugliness.Onthefaceofit,ugliness presentsasignificantproblemforAestheticism,forhowcaneverythingbe aestheticallyvaluableifsomeofitisugly?Asaninitial(butcertainlynot final)response,Iappealtothenotionof ‘difficultbeauty’ .
InChapter3,Imoveontothesublime,traditionallyclassedasthesecond majorsourceofaestheticvalue.Makingsenseofourappreciationofthe
sublimerequiresthatwerecognizeourpsychologicalcapacitytoempathize withobjects.Iarguethatbymeansofourempathicengagements,weare enthralledbythepowerofsublimeobjects.InserviceofAestheticism,the sublimegivesusawaytobecomereconciledtohostileorindifferentnature.
InChapter4,Idiscussdramaticvalue.Herethemajorissue,particularly whenwefocusonreallifecases,iswhetherdramacountsasanaesthetic valueinitsownrightorisatbestaconduitforothervalues.Iarguethatthe valueofdramaistobefoundintheexcitementofstretchinganagent’ s capacities.Experiencingdramaticvalue,especiallywithrespecttoourown lives,isanimportantwaytoembracestruggle.
InChapter5,Iexaminethevalueoftragedy.HereiswhereImostdirectly addresstheproblemofsuffering,particularlythesufferingofotherpeople. Isuggestthattragicworksofartareattemptstotacklethisveryproblem. Whilethereareseveralthingsgoingonintheseworks,Iarguethattheirkey functionistomakevividtheaestheticvaluewetakeinotherlivingbeings: whatIcallsympatheticvalue.
InChapter6,Iturntocomedy,oftenunder-recognizedasamajorsource ofaestheticvalue.Iarguethatcomicvalueliesintheappreciationof ‘ nonseriousnorm-violations’ andmoreoverthatithasthepowertoreconcileus withourvulnerability.Whenallelsefails,whenourlivesseemhopelessly insignificant,weatleasthavecomicvalue.
Chapter7,drawstogetherthevarioussourcesofaestheticvaluepresented inearlierchaptersandarticulateshowtogethertheyallowustoexperience theentireworldasaestheticallyvaluable.Thischapterisintendedasa consolidateddefenceofthecoreaestheticistposition,andcanberead relativelyindependentlyoftherestofthebook.Variouscriticismsof Aestheticismthathavecomeupoverthecourseofthebookareaddressed. InadditiontotheintrinsicbenefitsofAestheticism,Ialsonotethatithas practicalbenefits.Mostofall,itmotivatesustounderstandtheworldbetter. Inthisway,Aestheticismisanimportantstimulustoscienceand philosophy.
Chapter8iswhereIconsiderAestheticismasageneralapproachtolife. Iarguethatadedicatedaestheticistwillbeinspiredtocreateworksofart, andthatthewayanartistcreativelyrespondstothevalueoftheworldisan idealoflivingwell.Thoughthereareothersuchideals,theartisticparadigm canapplytoavarietyofhumanactivities,includingthepursuitandexpressionofone’sunderstanding(asinphilosophy).Inthelatterpartofthe chapter,Ithenarguethat,indistillingaestheticvalues,theartisthasan
importantsocialroletoplay.Artworkshelpustodiscernvalueideals,and ourcapacitytodiscernvaluesisacriticalcomponentofvirtue.
Overall,thisbookdefendsAestheticismasarobustsenseofthevalueof theworldandconsequentlyasplayinganecessaryroleinthegoodlife. Moreover,whileabasicsenseofaestheticvalueisnecessaryforagoodlife,a thoroughgoingdedicationtoaestheticvaluecancharacterizesomeofthe bestlives.Thisisasignificantconclusion.Aestheticvalueisoftenregarded asthemostuselessofallvalues,andthededicationtowardsaestheticvalue aspracticallyavice,resultinginthemostuseless,self-indulgentofallhuman beings.Yetthereisastrongcasetobemadethatasocietydedicatedtothe pursuitofaestheticvaluewouldbehappierandmoreresilientthanmost.
Relatedtothis,Imustacknowledgethatthereisanothermotivation underlyingthiswork:adesiretodefendaesthetics.Itisnosecretthat aestheticshaslowstatuswithinthephilosophicalprofession.Yetitisa greatmistaketoregardaestheticsasperipheral,particularlyinvaluetheory. Nootherstudyfocusessodeeplyon finalvalue,and finalvalueisthevery heartofvalueitself.Indeed,Aestheticismallowsustoarticulatethe final valueofphilosophy.SoIbelievethatallphilosophershavesomethingto gainfromengagingwiththeseissues.Itisperhapstheconsequenceofbeing madesoconsciousofthechargethataestheticsisuseless,andsoforcedto defenditsworthateveryturn,thatInowoffersucharesolutedefenceofits importance.
ListofFigures
1.CeilingofBorujerdihouse,Kashan,Iran(photographbyAmirPashaei)37
2. YoungGirlEatingaBird (1927)byReneMagritte/ADAGP.Copyright Agency,2021130
3. AnOldManandHisGrandson (1490)byDomenicoGhirlandaio155
4.AllNipponAirwaysJA8962(photographbyAdrianPingstone)188
5. JudithSlayingHolofernes (c.1620)byArtemisiaGentileschi196
1.Finalgoodsandtheirassociatedvirtues177
2.Finalgoodsandtheiraestheticdistalversions178
Introduction
0.1Theproblemofevil
Itdoesnottakeanunusuallysensitivesoultonoticethattheworldisfullof sufferingandstrife.Everysingledaythenewspapersshowpeoplemaiming andkillingeachother.Littlechildrendieofcancerwithclockworkregularity.Sometimestheyarerapedandmurdered.Naturaldisasterswipeout thousandsofinnocentsinseconds.Evenwhereweavoidsuchcalamities,life isfullofhumiliations.Wehurtourselves;wefallill;wegetintoraging argumentsabouttrivialities.Wegrindawayatmeaninglesstasksimposed onusbyindifferentpaymasters.Thereisverylittlejusticeinthisworld.
Iassumethattheaboveisallveryfamiliarandthereisnoneedformeto goonaboutit.Itisoftentakentobeaspecialproblemfortheism.Howcan wereconciletheexistenceofanall-knowing,all-powerful,all-lovingGod withsuchpervasivesuffering?Whenthisproblemispushedhardenough whenweemphasizethatmanycasesofsufferingleadtonogreatergoodand arecompletelypointless manypeople finditsufficienttoundermine theism(Gleeson2012hasanexcellent,balanceddiscussion).ButIwantto emphasizethatnaturalandmoralevilisnotjustaproblemfortheists.Itis oneofthosetrulydemocraticproblemsthateveryonecanenjoy!Anyone canwonderwhat,ifanything,makesthisuniverseagoodonewhenit containssomuchsuffering.¹
Nowformanyofus,lifeisreasonablycomfortable.Wehavelittlecauseto troubleourselveswithdeepquestionsaboutthevalueoftheuniversewhen wecanabsorbourselveswithourownsatisfactions.Butthisattituderequires astudiousignoranceofthehorrorsinflicteduponotherpeople.Itisalso ratherprecarious.Weimaginethatourlivesaresecure;thatdisasteronly happenstopeoplewhomakebadchoices,orwholiveinunfortunatelands
¹Cf.Nagasawa(2018)whoarguesthattheistsandatheistsalikemustcontendwiththe systemicevilofbiologicallifeandnaturalselection: ‘Whyshouldwethinkthattheworldis overallgoodandthatweshouldbehappyandgratefultobealiveinitifourexistencedepends fundamentallyonaviolent,cruelandunfairbiologicalsystemwhichguaranteespainand sufferingforuncountablymanysentientanimals?’
TheAestheticValueoftheWorld.TomCochrane.OxfordUniversityPress.©TomCochrane2021. DOI:10.1093/oso/9780192848819.003.0001
faraway.Butofcourse,lifehasawayofgoingverywrong,veryquickly. Indeed,Ioriginallywrotetheselinesin2019.Afterayearinwhicha pandemichastornthroughtheworld’spopulation,theprecarityoflifeis allthemoreplaintosee.Itwaseverthus.
Myimpressionisthatalotofpeopleareseriouslyunder-prepared, psychologicallyspeaking,todealwithsuchchallenges.Itishardtoavoid suchanimpressionwhen,accordingtotheWorldHealthOrganization, around800,000peoplekillthemselveseveryyear(settingasidetheslow suicidesofalcoholismanddrugaddiction;WHO2014).Itseemsthatwhen welookforsomekindofsupport,somesolidsenseofwhatmakesit worthwhiletokeeponstrugglinginthefaceofdesperatehardship,weare frequentlyataloss.Manyofusturntoreligionatthispoint.Butmanyofus (morethaneverthesedays)donot.Sowhatcanweappealtoinstead?What canpreventusfromfallingintonihilismanddespair?
Thisistheproblemdrivingthisbook.It’sabigone.NodoubtIwillnotbe abletoofferacomprehensivesolution,butIaimtoknockabigchunkout ofit.
0.2Pleasure
Itakethefollowingpropositiontobefoundational:Anyaccountofwhat makesthingsworthwhilemustappealtosomethingofpositive finalvalue. Somethinghas finalvalueifitisvaluedforitsownsake,andnot(merely)as ameanstowardssomethingelse.Finalvaluesmustlieattheendofallour strivingsifourstrivingsarenottobevainandfutile.
Peoplesometimesregardpleasureastheonlythingthatisvaluableforits ownsake.Thisisamistake.Itconfuses finalvaluewiththeintrinsicvalueof pleasure.²Theintrinsicvalueofpleasureisthatspecialsensationwhichfeels goodindependentofanycontext,orcause,orrelationtoanythingelse.But wevaluefortheirownsakeallsortsofthingsbeyondourfeelings.Infact, finalvaluesareoftenverysensitivetothewidercontext.Forinstance,ifwe find finalvalueinabirthdaycard,itmayhavelittletodowiththephysical cardandalottodowithwhosentit.
²SeeLopes(2018)forahelpfuldiscussionofthedifferencebetweenintrinsicvalue(valuable apartfromanyrelationshipsorcontext)and finalvalue(valuableforitsownsake).Iagreewith Lopeswhenheclaimsthat ‘the finalvalueofmostpleasuresisextrinsic’ (2018:56).
Indeed,sensitivitytocontextispartofpleasure ’snature.Pleasureisnot merelyanicesensation.Ithasanimportantpsychologicalfunction.This functionistolineusupwithwhateveritisthatisgeneratingthepleasure, suchthatwemaintainourrelationshipwithit.Thisfunctionisachievedin virtueofourtakingpleasure in thisorthatthingoractivity.Thatis,pleasure isanintentionallydirectedmentalstate.Anotherwaytoputthispointis thatpleasureisnotitselfagoodthatweacquire.Ratherpleasureispartof the psychologicalactivity oftakingvaluefromvariousobjects,properties,or events(cf.Levinson2016:37;Chappell2014:175).³
Understandingthedirectednatureofpleasureisanimportantcorrective toasimplistichedonistnotionthatweshouldseekonlytomaximizethe amountofpleasureweexperience.Theproblemisn’tthatmaximizing pleasureisbad.Theproblemisthatpursuingthepleasurablefeelingrisks confusingthevaluingwiththethingthatisvalued.Suchaconfusionmaybe behindtheso-called ‘paradoxofhedonism’,roughlytheobservationthatthe self-consciousdrivetobehappycanmakeapersonunhappy(e.g.Mill1873/ 1981;seeDietz2019foracontemporaryformulation).
Yetevenifpleasureispartofanintentionalactivity,thereisclearlya neuralmechanismthatrealizesanintrinsicallypleasantstate.Thisisdemonstratedbyourcapacitytochemicallystimulatefeelingsofpleasure.Ifthis mechanismistriggered,wewillfeelpleasure,regardlessofthestateofour lives.Sowhynotself-consciouslystimulatethisfeeling,ifwecandothiswith destroyingourhealth?Whynotcultivateanice,moderate,heroinhabit?
Thereasonwedon’t,recognizedbymostadults,isthatpleasurewithout justificationishollow.Itofferstemporarysatisfaction,thendisappearslikea dream.Thepointhereisnotthatthesensationofpleasureistootemporary. Wecaneasilyimaginemorelong-termwaystostimulateourpleasure mechanisms.Thepointisthatweseekmeaningfulengagementswiththe worldandwitheachother.Themeresensationofpleasuremaycertainlybe welcome,butwehungerto findvalueinactualthings.
Istruggletoarticulatethejustificationforthispreference.Onereasonably straightforwardadvantageoftakingpleasureinexternalthingsisinknowingthatthe finalvalueofexternalthingscanendure,andcanbebuiltupon, evenwhilewearenotcurrentlytakingpleasureinthem.Wecanstill intellectuallyjudgetheobjectofpleasureasagoodthing.Inthemidstof ³Forafullaccountofthepsychologyofpleasure,includingitssimultaneouslyevaluativeand motivationalcomponents,seemy(2018:ch.2).
suffering,thismaybeanimportantreconcilingthought,helpingtostaveoff despair.
Butmorethanthis,thereisakindofrightness,asenseofsecurityor being-at-home-nessthatcomesfromgraspingthegoodnessofthings aroundus.Wearenotself-sufficientcreatures.Wefeelourcontingency deepinourbones.Werelyonbeingpartof,orconnectingto,orrestingon somethingbeyondourselves.ItisthiswhichIthinkmakesamerelyintrinsic pleasureseemfragileorhollow.
Thusthehedonistshouldbeproperlyoriented.Anattitudeoriented towards finalvalueneednotbeself-consciouslyorientedtowardsthefeelingsofpleasure.Wecanbeengagedwithorattentivetowardsvaluing things,withoutreallybeingconcernedwithhavingpleasantexperiences. Wecansayallthiswhilemaintainingthatwhenwedo finallyvalue something,wewilltypicallyexperiencesomevarietyofpleasure.Wecan saythisevenifnegativefeelingsoremotionsareinvolvedintheprocessof comingtothat finalvalue.Overall,Ithinkweshouldtreatpleasure,ina broadsense,as theexperienceof finalvalue.
0.3Valuingtheworld
SofarIhaveinsistedthatanyaccountofwhatmakeslifeworthwhilemust appealtosomethingof finalvalue.Thehedonistrecognizesthecentralityof pleasureinexperiencing finalvalue,yetwearestillleftwonderingwhat actualthingsthesepleasuresshouldbedirectedat.
Herewemustalsoraiseouroriginalproblemonceagain.Recallthatthe underlyingproblemofthisbookistogiveadefenceofthevalueoflifethatis compatiblewiththeexistenceofpervasivesuffering.HereImeannotjust thesufferingofothers,butone’sownsuffering.Iwantanaccountwhere oneisabletohaveasenseof finalvalueevenwhereone’slifeisgoingvery badlyindeed.
Notethatthehedonistregardspainorsufferingasunequivocallybad,or onlyjustifiedinsofarasitwillinstrumentallybringaboutgreaterpleasurein thelong-run.Thusanyhedonistundergoingsufferingthatcannotbeconstrued asthemeanstogreaterpleasureisapttototallycondemntheirexistence.
Thismayseemaninsurmountableproblemforthehedonist.Indeeditis thereasonthatIcannotcountmyselfasahedonistinanystraightforward sense.ThisisbecauseIthinkwemustrecognize finalvaluesthatdonotrely narrowlyuponone’sownwell-being.Specifically,weshouldrecognizethe
valueofthewiderworld.Thisvaluecanofferbothasolacewhenlifeis harsh,andagrounduponwhichwecanrebuildthevalueofourindividual lives,ifwecancontributeinsomewaytothepositivevalueoftheworld.
Formuchoflife,thevalueoftheworldisabackgrounduponwhichour personalprojectsoperate.Sometimeswehaveonlyanimplicitsenseofthis value.But,particularlywhentimesarehard,itisimportantthatwecanfeel itssolidground.Thecomplementtothisclaimisthatone’ssenseofwellbeingcanneverbecompleteifonedisvaluesthewiderworld.Ifoneis sensitivetothevalueoftheworldatall,thisvaluemustbesatis fied.Agrip onthevalueoftheworldisanecessarycomponentofafullygoodlife.
Themainreasonforthisnecessityclaimisthatthevalueofpersonal projectsisunderminedifonedisvaluestheworldinwhichtheseprojectsare embedded.Suchabroaddisvaluewouldalwaysthreatentorenderone’ s personalprojectsfutile.Forinstance,wemayseenopointinraisingachildif theirlifewouldmerelyperpetuatethedisvalueoftheworld.Evenalife filled withpleasureswouldbeunderminedifitoccurredinaworldofshit,andthe livesofeveryonearoundyouweremiserableandpointless.Wecanimaginea versionofNozick’s(1974)famousexperiencemachinelikethis:Imaginethat youaregiventhechoicetoenteramachinethatwillgiveyoualifetimeof pleasurableexperiences,butyoualsoremainawarethattheworldoutsidethe machineisentirelywretched(somethinglikethesituationdepictedin StanislawLem’ s TheFuturologicalCongress,1974).Isupposesomepeople mightsaytothemselves, ‘well,atleastthere’ssomepleasureinthiscase’.That istrue,butthepointisthatone’spleasureswouldbeahollowrecompense.
Overall,theclaimsthat(i)thevalueoftheworldremainswhenourlives aregoingbadlyand(ii)asenseoftheworld’spositivevalueisacomponent ofwell-being,aresupposedtoapplyuniversally,oratleasttoallcreatures capableofevaluatingtheworld.Theseclaimsarefairlyminimal,butless universalclaimscanbestronger.Speci fically,manypeople’slivesarethoroughlyconcernedwiththevalueoftheworld.Manyofourpersonalprojects arespecificallyaimedatmakingtheworldabetterplaceormaintaining whatvalueithas.Naturallyinsuchcases,thevalueoftheworldplaysa muchlargerroleinwell-being.
0.4Thegrandmoralmission
Whenwestartthinkingaboutthevalueoftheworld,weoftenturntomoral value.Perhapsthemoralvalueofhumanityortheworldissomethingwe
candevoteourselvestowards.Ofcourse,ouroriginalproblemalsopointed outthatthereisagreatdealaboutourworldthatismorallybad.Yetperhaps thereisstillcauseforoptimism.
Ifwelookbackathistory,weseethatcomparativelyspeaking,thelife prospectsoftheaveragecitizenhavesignificantlyimproved.Newsreports tendto fixateoncrimeanddisaster,andthiscanpreventusfromappreciatinghowfarwehavecome.Billionsofpeoplenowhavereasonable nutrition,antibiotics,welfaresupport,andmoststatesaresecurefrom foreignaggression.Ifwelookatthestateoftheworldjustahundredyears ago,itisobviousthatevengiventhelatestpandemic,theaveragecitizenis morehealthyandmoresecurethaneverbefore.Thishistoricalnarrativecan supportakindofheroicattitude.Weareonagrandmoralmission.Ouraim istomakethisagoodandjustworld,freefromavoidablesuffering.Probably wewillnotfullyachievethisinourlifetimes,butwecanatleastmakesteady progress.
Aratherlarge flyintheointmentisthatthefutureofourspeciescurrently looksominous.Centuriesofuncheckedgrowthhasbroughtustothebrink ofenvironmentalcollapse,andtheprospectthatwithindecades,hundreds ofmillions,ifnotbillions,ofpeoplewillfacedesperatemigrationordeath. Meanwhilepowerfuleliteseithercan’torwon’tdoanythingseriousaboutit. Thesituationisespeciallydifficultbecauseontheonehandtruedisasteris notimminent,yetpreventiondemandsimmediateaction.Itishardto summonthepoliticalwilltochangetheeverydaybehaviourofbillionsof peoplewhenthedangerisnotclearandpresent.
Nevertheless,thegrandmoralmissionneednotbedeterred.Who knowswhatmaybeachievedinthecomingyears?Weshouldthinkof globalheatingasthegreatchallengeofourgeneration.Weshoulddouble downoureffortsevenmorepassionately.Indeed,wherethe ‘moralcommunity’ oftenseemslikeaphilosophicalidealization,theclimatecrisismay bethe firstissuethatgenuinelyconnectseverylivingbeingonthisplanet. Thuswehaveareasontogetupeverymorning,andtoaffirmthevalueof ourlives.
Idon’twanttounderminethegrandmoralmission.Wemustameliorate orpreventsufferingwhereverwecan.I’mjustnotveryoptimisticthat sufferingcanbefundamentally ‘solved’.Foronething,whenitcomesto historicalprogress,whiletheaveragelevelofwell-beingmayhaverisen,our growingpopulationmaystillmeanthatthesheerquantityofsufferingisas greatasiteverwas.ItseemsthatDickens’ famousline ‘itwasthebestof times,itwastheworstoftimes’ isperenniallytrue.Thatis,asourpopulation
numbersincreaseandourtechnologiesimprove,whatweseeareever greateramountsofbothsufferinganddelight.
Still,thecorrectreadingofhistoricaldevelopmentishardtosettle.Forthe sakeoftheargument,let’sassumethatitisindeedfeasibletomakethis worldradicallyfreeofavoidablesuffering.Willwehavethensolvedthe problemdrivingthisbook?Again,Ithinknot.
First,moralprogresswillnotmakethedeepexistentialproblemsgoaway. Letusnotforgetthatevenwerewetomiraculouslyachievesocialharmony, developasustainablerelationshipwithnature,andleadliveslargelyfreeof sicknessandpain,humansarestillmortal.Everysinglepersonstillmust contendwiththeirowndeathandthegriefoflosingothers.Thefevered dreamsofbelieversina ‘technologicalsingularity’ notwithstanding,thereis norealisticprospectofeliminatinghumanmortality(seee.g.Olson2019).
Moreover,withoutaGodtoorganizecreationaroundus,theuniverse appearsutterlyindifferenttoourexistence.MaxWeberdeclaredthat,with thelossofreligion,we findourselvesina ‘disenchanted’ world(Weber1917/ 2004:155;cf.Landy&Saler2009).I’mnotparticularlyconcernedaboutthe lossofmagic.I’mmoreconcernedthatwhenwetrytogetasenseofhowwe areplacedwithinnatureasawhole,ourinsignificancecanweighuponus heavily.Theuniverseisincomprehensiblyvast,mostlyempty,andthere’ sno apparentreasonitexists.Whatonearthisitallfor?
Inaddition,evenifweachieveutopia,wemaycontinuetocondemnthe past.ThereisaninterestingpassageinOlafStapledon’sbrilliantnovel Last andFirstMen whereheimaginesafuturehumanspecies,millionsofyears fromnow,thathasachievedavirtuallyperfectsociety.Unfortunately,this speciesisoppressedbytheknowledgethatpastgenerations,indeedthe majorityoflivingbeingsacrosshistory,havelivedlivesofappallingsuffering (Stapledon1930/2004:220‒2).Thereisnothingthefuturehumanscando aboutit.Nomatterhowwelltheylive,thatpastsufferingcannotbe redeemed.Itisnotofcoursethattheydon’tconsidertheircurrentlives worthliving.Itisthattheycannotfairlyregardtheuniverseasagood universewhenitcontainssuchanineradicablestainuponitscharacter.
Finally,andperhapsmostimportantly,itisnotclearthatthegrandmoral missionbyitselfprovidesasenseofpositive finalvalue.Theeliminationof sufferingorinjusticemayonlygetridofsomethingthatis finallydisvalued. Imaginethepeopleinthatfuturemoralutopia;whataretheyactuallyliving for?Isupposetheymightliveforeachother.Butwhatareallthoselives celebrating?Simplemoralcooperationstillneedssomethingpositivetoaim towards.Andifwestartadmiringthemereorderlinessofthemoralsociety
