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Value is a strange concept, one that could be argued as a construction of the mind. What defines value is unclear, some may say time, human life spans are fleeting and therefore, valuable. Would this not render a God, or some creator/ architect of the universe that has no time that lingers above its head without value ? Others may argue that value is what one creates, be it helping others, their art, knowledge, such a concept however falls into socially constructed categories of good, useful, aesthetic. I do not mean to refute definitions of value, I have no solid conclusion on the matter, and the purpose of my blog posts are merely to inspire thought and air out my own tangents. Value in a materialistic sense is created through demand, is it sought after enough to expend a portion of your monetary value. Something that is created through labour in a capitalist society. Labour, in western societal terms, is a humans key value, your time is given a monetary value, paid in by currency. This harkens my mind back to Albert Camus and the myth of Sisyphus. Doomed to push a bolder up a cliff, that once he reaches the top he resets back at the bottom in an endless cycle of labour, we must picture Sisyphus happy.

Camus further posits the ultimate riddle “There is only one really serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide”. Such a decision answers the question if life is worth living or not, is there enough value in the potentially meaningless to continue your human form within it. I do not advocate taking your life, in fact I think that valuable or not, existence is a part of nature, so let it conclude naturally. However, Camus brings value into the realm of absurdity, akin to the end of his book ‘The Stranger’, where the protagonist is set to be hung, a decision made by men who change their underwear everyday. Life is truly absurd, it is often hard to advocate the thin veil of logic humans blanket the malformed mass we call existence with. Even our foundations are constructed on chaos, (something that inspired my book Sinless). I do not advocate anarchy either, our values may be balanced on the back of hysteria ridden ants, but they are there all the same. Value for me is the heart of meaning, and without falling into a nihilistic existential dread, meaning is a concept I feel will be outgrown. This loss of value/meaning can be noted in the rise of science, highlighting our minuscule presence in an infinite cosmos. In fact, it was only discovered recently that the big bang was not the beginning of the universe, but the end of another that began ours.

Some may take solace in this growing perception of the infinite that surrounds us, and the finite that we possess. Sometimes I do, it is nice to feel small when everything else feels so big. Value is also cultural, and to zoom in even further it is individual, we value life, but a serial killer, not so much. Nietzsche spoke of values as a hierarchy, something that must be established without disregarding the existence of nihilism. It is tempting to get deep in master morality and slave morality, but morality is not the main subject of this post. So, it would seem for Nietzsche, value is created by humans and a worthwhile charade to keep up, even if he thinks we may never be capable of creating true value. I may be wrong about this, it has been a few years since I went on a Nietzsche reading binge, and even then I was not smart enough to understand everything. Value is a hotbed of discussion in philosophy, in other fields such as criminology, value is created through societal contracts and mutually agreed morals that translate to law. We value the freedom of the individual, even if they must place it on the line if they break the rules.

Value is a recurring theme I find myself implementing into every book I write, both published and unpublished. For the toughskins in ‘Sola Anima Solis’, their value lied within the death of the sun. For Edgar in ‘The Glass Moon’, it was value in existing as a human fully, before becoming something more. In ‘Sinless’, value was the distinction between the weight of sin, and the unweighable divinity, like a lotus flower untouched by the filth that surrounds it. Value is indeed an interesting topic, one that has had many great thinkers dissecting their reality in order to find a clue to what the answer may be. Such things remind me of Descartes ‘Cogito ergo sum’, or ‘I think therefore I am’. Maybe our only value lies within our ability to experience consciousness, our own consciousness. Everything outside of this is an extension to the concept, but any real hint of value exists only within fleeting self awareness we harbour. This may even remove freewill from the occasion, as we may just be the unfurling of an expanding universe, deluded that we are in control. When in reality we are no more in control than a scrunched up wrapper uncoiling itself, or a bumble bee performing the waggle dance to its co-workers.

This is a lengthy topic, one that I have no real conclusion for, and a banquet of discussion within philosophy. However, it greatly interests me, and I would love to hear other peoples thoughts on the matter, even if they completely go against my own ! So feel free to comment or message me, and if you liked this article give it a like.