Values and Ethics

Values and their Characteristics Values: standards for determining the relative worth of conditions, situations, people, or things. Abstract concepts Commonly accepted as enduring goods Ideals which people consider to be of outstanding and lasting importance Not absolutes Ex: honesty is a value, but may not be the greatest good at all times

Not all values can be achieved at all times; therefore, value debates deal with identifying the value(s) that are important in a given situation

Values are good Not all good in the same way Innate/Intrinsic: worthy in and of themselves Ex: justice, freedom, equality Instrumental: lead to other things that are perceived as good Ex: property, altruism, progress, work It is possible to be both intrinsically and instrumentally good

Value Qualifications Cannot just be instrumentally useful Must be desirable in the abstract Ex: “fraud” helps you gain property, money, or recognition, but no one would say “fraud” is desirable in and of itself Many values paired with opposites: disvalues or negative values Violence and peace Injustice and justice Values can also stand in opposition Ex: value of community often conflicts with value of individualism

Common Values in Debate Altruism Integrity Progress Beauty Justice Property Collective Good Knowledge Quality of Life Community Leisure Security Equality Life Self-Actualization Family Majority Rule Work Free Expression Nature Freedom Peace Individualism Privacy

What about “happiness?” Many philosophers claim “happiness” as the ultimate value In debate it can be too vague to be used as a primary value Can be used as a standard for evaluating which values should have priority in a given context.

Be wary of Quasi-values Very similar, but not an actual value. Rights: generally much narrower in definition than a value. Privileges & Duties: considered less important than rights and can be nullified by other concerns. Needs: values cannot be coerced, and needs can also be bad for you. Polices: products of our beliefs; values create our policies