Game Philosophy · Piece 6
Clarity of purpose comes from an examined sense of value. Examining what most matters to us can build a sense of purpose that propels us powerfully through life’s games.
Illustration · 4:3
Same image as this piece’s hub panel
Pure philosophy family
We all have mental maps of the world. When the map features correspond closely to real-world landmarks, we’re able to navigate reality intelligently. If we pick out a landmark as a destination, we can plot out a path towards it.
But how can we be sure where we should head to? We can’t become clear about what makes for a desirable future just by mapping out the measurable in ever greater detail. We have to go beyond a sense of what would or wouldn’t be the case, and arrive at a sense of what ought to be, or what would be valuable.
Value is like a special set of colours that tints our maps of the world, letting us know where to avoid and conferring a special glow to anything that might help us, and those we care about, to flourish.
A colour is not an integral part of an object; a colour is an indication of the object’s significance.
Purpose appears when an animal has a clear sense of a particular high-value future to aim for, or a particular low-value future to avoid.
When a person looks ahead and sees a possibility with that special glow — that sense of value — they might set their heart on reaching it. If so, the person becomes the protagonist in a brand new story. Will their ambition be realised? What obstacles will be in their way? How will they tackle those obstacles? What will unfold?
Every action that the person takes in pursuit of their new ambition will resonate with a new set of meanings.
Consciousness binds perceptions, feelings, ideas and memories together, creating the lived-in whole of an experienced moment.
Most of our experienced moments involve aspects of value and purpose. We might be repulsed by something, or attracted by it. We might see an opportunity to advance towards the realisation of some ambition. We might see danger.
It’s here that our maps of the world get their colour — their I want, their makes me sick, as well as impressions as subtle and varied as fragrances.
Our aesthetic sensibilities function as a radar for anything that might be destructive, and anything that embodies exceptional order or exceptional capacity for building useful order.
What makes for ugliness or beauty can often be codified. This is how ethics works. Adopting an ethical framework can prevent us from acting destructively, or help us to act in ways that promote flourishing.
Ethical ideas function as mental shortcuts. They keep our actions in line with our aesthetic sensibilities without us having to think through the consequences of actions. But they are just shortcuts. They are secondary. For them to make sense, they need our coloured-in aesthetic visions behind them.