Anatoly Volynets

“ It is interesting that cultural use, while bringing value to an artifact, may imply or directly require the deprivation of physical use.
Needs When your body feels a physical need, it signals you. After the body is satisfied, you normally do not feel the need for a certain period of time. These basic needs are ingrained in your body by nature and do not differ much from the needs of animals. When it comes to a cultural phenomenon, the more you communicate with it, the more you need it and vice versa: the less culturally developed a person is, the less he or she needs access to culture. ”

“ Material versus Cultural Exchange Cultural phenomena and material things can be shared, but there is a difference in how each does so: physical things change hands while cultural phenomena can be copied or just remembered by other people. That is, one does not lose an idea when it becomes known to others. One does not lose a movie when it is watched or copied by others. One does not lose a musical piece when it is listened to or recorded by others. ”

“ A book can be boring for one person and interesting for another. A person can be boring but loved. Now, how does this translate into the world of physical things? Can we use a non-useful thing? The answer is obvious although it is quite likely that a skilled person can use what an unskilled person cannot. This is probably the point at which three worlds differ—people, cultural phenomena, and physical things. ”

“ First of all, it is necessary to distinguish between physical things that have their own value and pure media (books, musical records, movie tapes, etc.) that actually have no value of their own, but derive value entirely from cultural phenomena. There are two more types in between, as well. Thus we have four categories: consumer goods, tools, media, and artifacts. Let us define each of them in detail:
Consumer goods are things that are consumed and disappear. They lose form as their value is being utilized. The most typical representative of this group is food. ”

“ Media do not possess value as physical objects. Their value is acquired exclusively through the inscription of cultural phenomena. They are intended solely for communication. Media gradually physically depreciate while being used, like tools do, but inscribed cultural phenomena appreciate. People who buy and “use” them are the audience.
Artifacts are things which once were valuable for their physical features, but now derive their value from unintended cultural use. These are unique old buildings, cars, tools, other relics, collectibles, etc. ”

“ Nothing signals to a person the need to read a book, to listen to music, or to watch a painting, if this person has not been brought up with and taught to understand and like music, books, paintings. These specifically human needs— or, better said, needs of the human soul—have to be intentionally developed. Satisfaction from a cultural phenomenon is of a specific nature. ”

“ Ideas which reflect the worth of physical things must be shared for these things to be traded. Any trading of physical things or services without the sharing of ideas is
either impossible, or meaningless, or harmful for one or both parties. Usage Usage of different things Let us take tools, as an example. They gradually lose their physical capability while being used and thus lose their value. On the contrary, cultural phenomena derive their value directly from being “used,” which means being shared, communicated, known. Cultural phenomena gain value with each usage. ”

“ For example, a family can live in a unique old mansion suitable more as a museum than for casual dwelling. Another example is when a profound work of art is considered simply “entertaining” and because of that attitude often is forgotten. In this case the work is turned into a consumer good and correspondingly the audience transforms itself into consumers. ”

“ Does such a decrease happen to consumables only?
Beta: I think it relates . . . if this is about consumables. . . . They are supposed to be used up, so . . .
Gamma: Actually, that was said already. Culture may creates value in physical objects but can also destroy that value.
Kappa: I have another idea, . . . I don’t know whether it has anything to do with our topic or not.
Teacher: What is it?
Kappa: People can change something’s value by using something else.
Alpha: What do you mean?
Kappa: You use a complicated process to turn fresh tomatoes into canned ones.
Alpha: Ah, that’s new. ”

“ Music may make you hungry for more; it’s the same with a book. . . . We actually discussed this already. . . . And again, it feels like this feature of a cultural phenomena relates to our personal affiliation with it.
Teacher: I’m lost. It feels like there’s an issue related to car parts, the parts of a meal, and the parts of a piece of art, but I’m not clear what it is.
Beta: Yeah. We can summarize it this way: a part has a different relationship to the whole in art or consumables or tools. ”

“ Different uses of one thing A material thing can be used both physically and culturally. An artifact, say a unique building, depreciates because of physical use, but becomes more valuable when it gets included in communication between people and becomes known for its uniqueness. ”

“ But if your friend is sick, even unconscious, you will not go visit someone else. You go visit your friend. If you cannot find your favorite book when you want it, you will not sit and read whatever is just hanging about. ”

“ One of our initial observations was that cultural phenomena increase in value while being used. I believe that relates somehow to what I was saying.
Alpha: How can we determine this increase in value? I agree that references might cause an increase in value. But competition causes a decrease in value. These two ideas are just ideas. They are not proven facts. At any rate, we cannot take that increase as a given.
Kappa: All right, now at least we have a problem statement!
Delta: Wait, wait. I hardly see a problem here. Competition is always seen by businessmen as something harmful! ”

“ Generally, we can state that the need for culture increases with “usage or satisfaction.”
Moreover, cultural desires can cause physical sacrifices and vice versa. Physical needs can cause one to give up cultural ones. Cultural desire can require a person to control bodily desires, to limit, redirect, suppress, twist, or inspire them.
Two in One Any human thing consists of a material thing and cultural phenomena inscribed in it. ”

“ You can love a boring person or a dishonest one or a criminal or someone helpless or stupid or a plain jerk or whatever negative character trait you can only imagine. I read all kind of stories like this. ”

“ Well, it is natural that Alpha wants Beta to share his money, but what about our criteria? What is right for people? It is obvious that if two of your businesses compete in equal conditions, then all of your customers win. ”

“ Since tools are normally used for a prolonged period of time, people can develop personal feelings toward them, but this phenomenon is not in direct relationship to the nature of the tools. They do not appeal to feelings by nature ”

“ To Kappa, Again Yes, if you are hungry, it does not matter what you eat; if you are cold, it does not matter how you get warm; if you have not slept for a long time, you can fall asleep anywhere, anytime. ”

“ You may like a meal and eat it once in a while, but that’s it.
To Kappa If someone is watching TV continuously, he or she never or rarely sees the same movie or show. The programs must keep changing and oftentimes are forgotten. We are hardly dealing with an audience in this case. I would say that people who “watch and watch” whatever comes on do not communicate with but simply consume video-production. They act more like consumers, not like an audience. ”

“ We feel personal affiliation with people and works of art, and, therefore, we are not willing to easily substitute them with other people or other works. We do this more easily with other things. Beta: And I would like to reiterate what stands out for me. Each single use or reference increases the value of a creative work and the publicity of its author.
Kappa: By the way, royalties don’t! ”

“ Or the customers or the audience or the general public or the country . . . I don’t know who else. Mankind?
Delta: Law should serve the people and the country. We have to look at the issue from that stand-point.
Teacher: May I narrow this down a bit? Our question can be this: When does a law serve Alpha and Beta and our country best? When Beta is required to pay royalties for the use of Alpha’s recipe? Or when Beta is required to give Alpha proper attribution? ”

“ They develop under different laws, although they relate to and depend on one another.
Many people realize that the difference exists. This is also reflected in understanding of certain human rights in the Western World. ”