A Modern Superstition

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Imagine you have two identical jackknives, but one of them was owned by your grandfather. You decide to sell one of them, but you're careful to keep the one your grandfather owned.

Given that the two knives are ABSOLUTELY the same in terms of their size, weight and material composition, the typical modern person will think your preference is "superstitious" or based on "emotion" rather than "reason" or "facts". They'll say your preference is irrational. Innocuously irrational, perhaps, but irrational nonetheless.

I say this reveals a peculiarly modern superstition: the firm belief that institutional/cultural properties are less real than physical properties. (I bristle at my use of the term "physical". What I mean is size, weight, material composition and such. Physical is too ill defined to be useful here.)

I say being once owned by my grandfather is a very real property of the knife. As real as being composed of stainless steel and being 4 inches long.

Granted, a knife being once owned by my grandfather doesn't change its weight or size or whatever. But that's irrelevant.