Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

by Jordan B. Peterson

The medieval man lived, for example, in a universe that was moral-where everything, even ores and metals, strived above all for perfection. 12 Things, for the alchemical mind, were therefore characterized in large part by their moral nature-by their impact on what we would describe as affect, emotion or motivation; were therefore characterized by their relevance or value (which is impact on affect). Description of this relevance took narrative form, mythic form-as in the example drawn from Jung, where the sulphuric aspect of the sun's substance is attributed negative, demonic characteristics. It was the great feat of science to strip affect from perception, so to speak, and to allow for the description of experiences purely in terms of their consensually apprehensible features. However, it is the case that the affects generated by experiences are real, as weIl.