The Origins Of Pleasure Summary

As humans, we have become engulfed in the rapid changes of society and technology and feel as though we are losing ourselves, our identities. In order to stay connected to our identities, we have defined when the past became the past and how we can connect the past to our present. In Paul Bloom’s “The Origins of Pleasure”, he discusses that it is through human belief that causes us to place value on things based on origin thus creating historical continuity. On the other hand, Zerubavel discusses that the creation of historical connectivity comes from preserving one’s original identity in his book “Time Maps”. Ultimately, both Bloom’s and Zerubavel’s approaches bind on how human perception places value on things in which have a significant …show more content…
Zerubavel approaches the concept of historical continuity in terms of how preserving identity forces one to place value on objects that are linked to their past. Zerubavel says that historical continuity comes from the human mind; “the past and the present are no entirely separate entities” (Zerubavel 2004: 37). We have made a distinction between the two and categorized what makes the past the past and the present the present, however it “is an illusion” (Zerubavel 2004: 37); therefore, it is because of this created illusion, a line that is drawn to make a distinction from then and now, we have put a value on history or time. Once we have made this illusion a distinction within social reality, “such divisions are not so easy to erase” (Zerubavel 2004: 38). By defining the past, it helps society understand the present. Furthermore, distinguishing between the two is salient. However, due to the rapid change in society and technology, the continuity between the past …show more content…
The first example he uses is the George Clooney sweater. The price someone would pay for a worn Clooney sweater would be more than a worn Clooney sweater that has been washed. To a fan, if the sweater has been washed, it loses it’s value. Also, if the fan is forced to sign a disclosure agreement in which he cannot tell others that this sweater was worn by George Clooney, then the fan drops the value of the sweater. If the fan cannot proclaim the facts of the thing he truly values, then it is worth less to him. If he can make others believe that the thing he values is valuable by asserting the historical facts, then the value increases in his perspective. Another example is how Marla Olmsted’s art work at three years old looked very similar to famous twentieth century artist Jackson Pollock. People who consider Pollock’s work extraordinary, believe that his works are hard to create which gives them reason to place value on his work. Moreover, because Marla painted in the same style as Pollock without ever seeing his work at a young age, people valued her paintings for thousands of dollars; her work was a connection to history. However, when people found out that her father coached her, the history of her work had changed and was immediately devalued. When things are connected through a chain of historical facts