6) Aesthetics
The moment that Reason was deemed the most satisfying of the mental faculties was the moment that emotion assessed its own self-worth and then suffered reproach. Surely this was emotion’s greatest honor yet—to recognize subordination to Reason. Even at this moment, when Reason was lifted up to the highest esteem, it was our gratification—our resolve—that was the brawn that did so. Unfortunately for us, emotion is the deeper of the mental faculties.
However, following this moment, it came to pass that Reason lent support to its belittled counterpart. And a proclamation was made from the mouth of Reason itself: Our emotional faculty has developed as our most expedient tool for recalling individuations of experience—surely we commend it as such on merit of its severity and immediacy.
With each mental faculty humbled to the next, we are capable of an aesthetic understanding. And with this understanding what is expressed colloquially as material and thought are reducible to the same—both are products which vary only in degree of severity present in our environment. We could easily designate the idea weak, while the material is immediate and strong.
Thankfully emotion strikes us hard enough—we find Reason functioning best with relationships in close proximity of either time or space. And we can read into this union of mind further: if we find an impression too strong for our liking, we look for a relief; and if too weak, we look for a substitution. Either resolve can be satisfied by sublimation. If our product is not a release, then it is a reminder which we keep close—and upon its reoccurring touch, taste, sound, or image we find solace again.
