Conatus: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

C O N A T U S

would indeed have been somewhat easier if we just saw aesthetics as value-free and morally neutral (much in the way science tries to separate itself off from any value-judgements implied in its findings). But alas, we are more complex creatures than this!

We have to dig deep into where any rules or theories about ethics, morality and goodness spring from if we have any hope of progressing. And it’s important to realise that behind all claims to rightness and beauty lie values. The idea of axiology — an axiarchic universe — seems useful. If the universe were to already contain ‘reasons’ — built in, as it were, to its very fabric — then this is one possible source of value. Or there may be a transcendent or may be a natural source, such as we’ve already explored with regard to truth and beauty. Or it may be that quality, meaning, purpose and value are things that emerge in the universe along with life and consciousness — in that process of emergence we have explored earlier.

In previous chapters the idea of a progression in the way we experience the world was suggested. The reader will remember the progression took the form — Sensation, Perception, Impulse, Symbol, Image. It was noted that sensation takes in a little more than just ‘observation’ by means of seeing and measuring. It may include emotions and sentiments such as shame, generosity, and the appreciation of beauty. These are all judgements of quality as much as acts of perception — in fact, the quality seems to step in even before we’re really at that ‘aware that we’re aware’ stage. We might say that the quality stands before any type of introspection

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