◊💎📖 Last night I had a fascinating nightmare which, to me, seems to illustrate that I've done a healthy amount of reading (and now additional research) to back up my statements in The 7 of 9 ⨺ SOLVE COAGULA Mind Map System (Prototype). The SOLVE and COAGULA sets within that system make a huge statement about the power institutions of society. Although I majored in sociology during my University bachelor's degree in Humanities, it's interesting to note that this dream seems to imply that — in a certain more artistic way — even having read George Orwell's 1984 is enough to back me up in my creative proposal which plays out in the way the cards are used in the game. Here's the story of this nightmare :
The Nightmare
My own copy of 1984 )) The book appears unread because although I purchased it, I went for an audio book experience instead. For those not committed to the read, I recommend the movie 1984 which actually came out that year.
◊🖤 I was in a large communal building which was like an apocalyptic futuristic school, somewhat resembling the commune described in George Orwell’s 1984. Everything was very dull, grey and bland just like in that book. The school was chaotic. In the hallways, there were rolling, multi-level trays of reading materials being transported between classrooms — and these became increasingly messy with less bound books and more loose papers througout the dream. It seemed to symbolize the "book burning" and propaganda or misinformation based mind control in 1984.
◊🚨 This chaos was growing because a furious oppressive team-force was surging through the whole society, auditing people and putting them through abusive and murderous conditions based on heavy assessments. This was similar to the 1984 thought police who charged people for "face crimes". For example, one person was sentenced to death or jail for life due to the charge of sexual pain — their own experience of having it, not that it had been inflicted on him through traumatic abuse. As these violent audits kept progressing, people were checking in with each other in the dining hall to see how it was going. One old man was checked on at multiple occasions and he reported that his wife had been taken by the officers, and his fear was increasing in each meeting that he would never see her again. Finally, much later, he had found out she had died.
◊🔫 At some point, I left the school and went to walk the streets. I passed by a 'hole in the wall' bar that I had seen in previous dreams — but everything was stressed now. Outside the bar in a stoney, almost medieval, rocky area, I was sieged by the officials. One sexy looking female officer who looked like a character from a movie pointed a huge machine gun at me and started auditing me on my reading while showing me a stack of messy papers from the school.
◊🔖 She ordered me to read a book called “The Hierarchy of Value”. I frantically tried writing it down on a note to remember it and she quickly made me lose the note by messing up my papers, showing me many others. She repeated the book title and I remembered it just barely by memory. At the same time, the officials had extreme futuristic nano-technology. They took a Chinese bracelet that had recently been given to me for my birthday and transformed it into an awkwardly bulbous index finger ring which had powerful psychologically manipulative, technological powers over me.
When I Awoke, I Researched The Book From the Nightmare
◊💎 Immediately when I woke up (at this point in the dream) I asked ChatGPT if there is a real book called The Hierarchy of Value. The response was no, but there was 3 interesting books with similar titles or which investigated interesting ideas about the concept. It was obvious that this term was in reference to The 7 of 9 ⨺ SOLVE COAGULA Mind Map System (Prototype). Originally, I had always planned to order the cards which correspond with major power institutions (or sector) according to a ranking or “hierarchy of value” as I called it, which represents how harmful and unintegrated, or how much true value each offer the world. One of these books made me aware of literature which offers some opposing viewpoints about power structures by institutions which dominate and oppress the world — viewing these “lower” sectors as I have deemed them as having true value of some sort. Another seemed agreeable with my opinions. And finally, one of the books criticized the harmful financial sector — it was a thesis from a university scholar.
Conclusion ◊ The Books I Discovered
◊📚 For your reference, here are the 3 books as described by ChatGPT, incase you are curious. Firstly, Hierarchy and Value : Comparative Perspectives on Moral Order is less about a formal philosophy of value (axiology) and more about how people actually think about and practice hierarchy in real societies, and how those practices connect to broader ideas about what is good, ordered, or morally justified. It describes how hierarchy itself can be viewed as a positive value rather than just oppression or inequality. In contrast, The Body Impolitic is a serious anthropology book about tradition, labor, marginality, and value. The “global hierarchy of value” is a concept the author uses to describe how judgments of worth are socially and culturally imposed — often in unequal and power-laden ways. The book shows that these hierarchies are not neutral but connected to colonial histories, globalization, and everyday cultural life.
◊🔖 Finally, The Cognitive Hierarchy of Value is a scholarly thesis planned to become a book. It isn’t about social status or moral rank like in social anthropology; instead, it’s a conceptual hierarchy based on how value is recognized and sustained in human cognition — that is, how people’s mental processes give rise to experiences of value. It asserts that modern fiat currencies (e.g., everyday government-issued money) are so convenient that they require little mental effort to use, which can lead to “value awareness” fading — meaning people may stop fully engaging with or appreciating the value behind economic transactions. This reduced cognitive effort, according to Eslami, may lead to impulsive consumption and undervaluation of goods, even degrading quality over time as people pay less attention to what they value.
For those reading in desktop or comfortable scrolling as needed, continue on to the full breakdowns about the books from ChatGPT in columns which are viewable in desktop and will be piled on top of another in mobile. :
Yes — there is a real scholarly book titled The Body Impolitic: Artisans and Artifice in the Global Hierarchy of Value by Michael Herzfeld, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2003/2004. It uses the phrase “global hierarchy of value” as a key concept to explore how value, status, and cultural worth are constructed and distributed in the modern world.
Here’s a clear explanation of what the book is about and how it relates to the idea of a hierarchy of value:
📘 Overview of The Body Impolitic
The Body Impolitic is an anthropological study that examines the lives of artisans in small towns on the Greek island of Crete. Herzfeld uses their experiences as a lens to analyze broader global processes of value-making — how certain kinds of people, labor, and cultural practices are valued, devalued, or marginalized within larger social and economic systems.
🧠 The “Global Hierarchy of Value”
Herzfeld’s central argument revolves around a concept he calls the global hierarchy of value, which is:
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Not a formal economic ranking, but a culturally embedded system of judgments about what is “valuable,” “respectable,” or “backward.”
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A set of implicit norms and expectations that shape how local cultures are seen both by themselves and by the global mainstream.
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Rooted historically in European and colonial values, yet now widely internalized as common sense through globalization and cultural homogenization.
🛠️ Key Themes in the Book
Here’s how Herzfeld explores these ideas through the lives of Cretan artisans:
🧵 Tradition vs. Modernity
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Artisans are officially celebrated as keepers of tradition — yet that very tradition is used to mark them as backward or uncultured in contemporary economic systems.
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Their traditional skills become a kind of burden rather than a path to economic or social advancement.
🧠 Marginality and Stereotype
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Herzfeld shows how apprentices are trained through stealth and guile, reinforcing stereotypes of artisans as uneducated or crude.
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These local stereotypes are echoed in broader national and global views of Greece and similar societies as culturally marginal.
🔄 Global Common Sense
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A key part of the global hierarchy of value is that certain value judgments become so normal they seem universal — e.g., what counts as “civilized,” “efficient,” or “modern.”
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These judgments often reflect Western-centric biases, even when presented as universal truths.
🤔 Why It Matters
This book isn’t just about Greek artisans — it uses them as a case study for how value systems operate globally:
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It illustrates how cultural norms and prejudices become embedded in everyday life, affecting people’s opportunities and identities.
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It reveals that value is not just economic but deeply social and cultural, shaped by history, power, and global relations.
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The “hierarchy of value” Herzfeld describes is a powerful way to understand uneven globalization — how some ways of life are uplifted while others are dismissed or exploited.
🧾 In Short
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✔️ The Body Impolitic is a serious anthropology book about tradition, labor, marginality, and value.
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✔️ The “global hierarchy of value” is a concept the author uses to describe how judgments of worth are socially and culturally imposed — often in unequal and power-laden ways.
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✔️ The book shows that these hierarchies are not neutral but connected to colonial histories, globalization, and everyday cultural life.
If you want, I can summarize specific chapters or explain how Herzfeld’s idea of value compares with other theorists like Hartman’s axiology or Bourdieu’s cultural capital — just let me know!
Yes — Hierarchy and Value: Comparative Perspectives on Moral Order is a real book, and although it doesn’t explain a philosophical “hierarchy of value” in the abstract (like in value theory/axiology), it explores how social hierarchies are understood, justified, and valued in different cultures and how they relate to ideas about the “moral order.”
Here’s a clear overview of the book and how it uses the idea of hierarchy and value:
📘 What the Book Is
Hierarchy and Value: Comparative Perspectives on Moral Order
Edited by: Jason Hickel and Naomi Haynes
Publisher: Berghahn Books (2018)
Pages: ~170
Series: Studies in Social Analysis
This is a scholarly edited volume — meaning different anthropologists contribute chapters — that examines how hierarchy and the idea of value are intertwined in social life across various societies.
🧠 Core Focus
The book’s central concern is the relationship between hierarchy and moral values — that is, how:
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Hierarchies are conceived and organized in different cultures,
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People make sense of what is “good,” “proper,” or morally desirable, and
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Hierarchy itself can be viewed as a positive value rather than just oppression or inequality.
Rather than assuming hierarchy is a negative by-product of domination, the contributors ask:
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Why do people sometimes embrace hierarchical social forms?
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How do these forms connect with ideas about moral order, social good, and collective well-being?
🧭 How It Approaches “Hierarchy and Value”
🌍 Comparative and Ethnographic
The book uses ethnographic case studies from various parts of the world — including Indonesia, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and others — to show how different societies organize social relations, moral norms, and authority structures.
Some examples of chapters include:
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The interplay between local religious traditions and Catholicism in Indonesia.
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Forms of submission and power in Orthodox Ethiopia.
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The ethics and social roles within Islamic pious movements in Pakistan.
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Practices of rank and demotion among the Ngadha in Indonesia.
🧩 How “Hierarchy” Is Theorized
Rather than just a statistical ranking of people, hierarchy is treated as:
1. Relational Form
Hierarchy is a way of arranging relationships, not simply inequality. It involves specific expectations about roles, authority, duty, and respect.
2. Framework for Moral Value
The contributors argue that hierarchy often embodies certain moral principles in a society — like duty to family or community — and thus functions as a moral order, not just a power structure.
3. Sometimes Positive or Desired
One major theme is why some communities regard hierarchy as desirable or morally good, not merely oppressive — for instance, as part of tradition, religious practice, or social cohesion.
📍 Afterword by David Graeber
The book includes an afterword by anthropologist David Graeber that reflects on the role of hierarchy in human social life and critiques common assumptions about its inevitability or immorality.
🧠 Main Takeaways
So, in relation to the term “hierarchy of value”:
✅ Hierarchy is analyzed not only as structural rank but as a system of values that shapes moral thought.
✅ The book treats hierarchy as a cultural and moral idea, not just economic or political power.
✅ It asks why hierarchy persists and is sometimes valued, especially in the context of globalization and modernity.
📌 In Short
This book is less about a formal philosophy of value (axiology) and more about how:
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People actually think about and practice hierarchy in real societies, and
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How those practices connect to broader ideas about what is good, ordered, or morally justified.
If you’d like, I can also explain how the book relates to classic theories of hierarchy — for example, comparisons with thinkers like Louis Dumont (in Homo Hierarchicus) or Pierre Bourdieu’s ideas on social value and capital.
Here’s a clear explanation of The Cognitive Hierarchy of Value by Abolhassan Eslami and how it relates to the idea of value and hierarchy — including the key theme behind the term itself:
📄 What The Cognitive Hierarchy of Value Is
The Cognitive Hierarchy of Value is a forthcoming academic paper by Abolhassan Ali Eslami indexed on PhilPapers — not (so far) a full book published by a major press. Rather, it appears as a scholarly manuscript that is in the process of publication.
This means there isn’t yet a widely distributed book with the same title, but the paper represents a new theoretical contribution in philosophy of value, economics, and cognitive theory.
🧠 Central Idea: Cognitive Hierarchy of Value
The author introduces a framework called the “cognitive hierarchy of value.” In this context:
🔹 Cognitive Hierarchy
This isn’t about social status or moral rank like in social anthropology; instead, it’s a conceptual hierarchy based on how value is recognized and sustained in human cognition — that is, how people’s mental processes give rise to experiences of value.
🔹 Focus on Monetary Systems
The paper’s core argument uses this hierarchy to analyze money and value perception:
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Modern fiat currencies (e.g., everyday government-issued money) are so convenient that they require little mental effort to use, which can lead to “value awareness” fading — meaning people may stop fully engaging with or appreciating the value behind economic transactions.
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This reduced cognitive effort, according to Eslami, may lead to impulsive consumption and undervaluation of goods, even degrading quality over time as people pay less attention to what they value.
🔹 Bitcoin as a Cognitive Store of Value
To illustrate his model, Eslami looks at Bitcoin — arguing that:
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Because Bitcoin often involves higher cognitive transaction costs (i.e., more thought and attention to use and evaluate), it forces users to remain cognitively engaged with the idea of value.
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This engagement keeps value awareness active in a way that frictionless fiat money does not.
🧠 The Hierarchy Itself (in Eslami’s Framework)
Eslami proposes an “inverted cognitive hierarchy” organized by how well different kinds of monetary instruments sustain cognitive engagement with value:
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Bitcoin → highest in sustaining value awareness (primary anchor)
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Consumption goods → intermediate level
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Fiat currency → lowest level (tertiary convenience)
This ordering isn’t about economic worth in the usual sense (like market price), but about how strongly each level engages the brain’s value-tracking processes — in other words, a hierarchy based on cognitive value awareness.
🧩 How It Relates to 'Hierarchy of Value'
Unlike concepts like formal axiology (e.g., Hartman’s The Structure of Value, where value categories are arranged structurally) or anthropological uses of “hierarchy of value,” Eslami’s version:
✅ Focuses on mental processing of value rather than purely moral or social ranks
✅ Links value recognition to cognitive effort and awareness rather than cultural status
✅ Applies especially to economic behavior and monetary systems (with Bitcoin as a case study)
So here the hierarchy refers to levels of cognitive engagement with value, not just which values are more important — it’s about how deeply and actively we recognize and sustain them in our minds.
📌 In Short
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Not yet a published book in the traditional sense — the work is a forthcoming paper.
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Presents a new philosophical framework that uses a hierarchy based on cognitive engagement with value.
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Applies this idea particularly to money and valuation in economic behavior, emphasizing value awareness in the mind rather than external rankings.
If you want, I can also explain how this cognitive hierarchy approach compares with more traditional theories of value in philosophy (like axiology) or social psychology’s use of cognitive hierarchy models!
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