Purpose, Utility, Intent, and Impermanency

I spent a good part of my summer pondering the impermanent nature of everything and wondering what the true purpose might be behind creating that, which by design, must decay.

I considered the possibility that it is all about evolution. But again, the fact that decay is inevitable for all things left me feeling that would be an illogical and impoverished evolutionary path - where and what is the gain when the solar system disappears?

This led me to wonder about the utility of categorizations like purpose, function, and performance in an impermanent world. What is the purpose/meaning of life? What is the function of evolution? Who/What/How was what we now classify as "life" created? Was it done intentionally and cognitively? Was impermanence assigned as an inherent characteristic of the original design? What is the logical outcome of design impermanency? What is/should be the ultimate goal of an impermanent existence for a reflective being?

Telfer's desire to classify food as a simple and minor art, partially because of food's utilitarian nature, its transiency, intensity of aesthetic reactions, aesthetic judgments, and the nature of "works of art" and "art forms" brought me back to my summer musings - but with a twist. Why do beings create? What is the purpose of the activity of creating? Does it serve an evolutionary function? Is it an aspect of a being's biological imperative? Is the act of creating inherently artistic? Is the creation of life an artistic act? Do all life forms create? Is creativity a necessity to actualize art? Must creativity necessarily be cogitative and intentional? Can art be created by the subconscious? Or accidentally? Should art be compared through interartistic disciplines?

I am extremely curious about humankind's propensity for judging and labeling, especially in the very personal and subjective realm of art. I am concerned about our society's obsession with value judgments proceeding from its materialistic, unethical, and spiritually impoverished mores and their misapplication to art.

More Questions:

Are judgments and dichotomies the result of the brain's biological need to find patterns through hierarchical imposition? Is this why society feels compelled to judge art? If it is, how does judging art inform us biologically or evolutionarily?