ALAN THE ARTIST

The second goal of ancient wisdom is understanding what is objectively valuable and worth striving for in the nature of things. I call this second goal objective worth – worth from all points of view, not merely from one or a limited number of points of view. It is another name for fourth-dimensional value. We have some indication from the discussion of fourth-dimensional value in Chapter 8 that this notion of objective worth has more complexity than one might initially assume. But we only touched the surface of the complexity there. The best way to delve more deeply into it is by reflecting on certain kinds of narratives or stories. Here are two such narratives showing different aspects of the notion of objective worth.

Consider, first, a fellow we will call Alan the artist. Alan has been ill and depressed of late, so much so that a rich friend devises a scheme to lift his spirits. The friend arranges to have Alan's oil paintings bought at a local gallery (under assumed names) for substantial prices ($20,000, $30,000, and more). Alan is elated. He had always thought – let us assume mistakenly – that his paintings have great artistic merit. He now assumes they are at last winning the recognition of knowledgeable critics and collectors.

Now imagine two possible worlds. In one world, Alan thinks he is being recognized as a great artist, but in fact is being deceived – the world just described.