Work and Play, Means and End

In Formaterialism, Experience is a combination of the Material Principle and the Formal Principle, particular manifestations of which are exertion and satisfaction, respectively. There are infinite varieties of combinations of the two Principles, so, likewise, the relation between exertion and satisfaction can vary infinitely. For example, when they are in approximate equilibrium, the experience is what is termed in Formaterialism 'Evolvement'. Other possible combinations include relatively satisfactionless exertion and relatively exertion-free satisfaction, i. e. toil and leisure, respectively. Furthermore, a generalization of the relation between toil and leisure is Means-End, so, in other words, the Means-End relation is nothing more than a scheme of attempted experiential reconstruction. Now, what are generally known in Western culture as 'work' and 'play' are toil and leisure, respectively. But, while Formaterialism agrees that Work is satisfactionless exertion, it maintains that Play is equivalent to Evolvement, not to leisure. So, while it agrees with the predominating ideology that Work is a 'fallen' condition, it regards most of what usually constitutes leisure activity as equally un-Edenic. Furthermore, according to Formaterialism, the culture's 'work ethic' is a perpetuation of an unbalanced type of Experience, rather than a path to some redemption. Finally, just as taking medicine in order to cure an illness has value only as a temporary contrivance, the teleological conception of Experience, i. e. as fundamentally as 'Means-End' structure, has value only as a temporary means itself, not as an end, and is not to be confused with balanced Experience, i. e. with Play.