Questions tagged [values]

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What are some arguments for why lives are valuable?

In ethics, the idea that lives, in and of themselves, are valuable (with a complete disregard of the consequences that followed from that life) is often used to prove some point, but the claim that ...
GundoGan's user avatar
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2 answers
5k views

What does Pirsig mean by "Quality"?

I just finished reading Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which I understand to be a popular-yet-important book for those looking to enter the realm of philosophical ...
daOnlyBG's user avatar
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3 answers
336 views

How can one objectivley measure the nobility or value of a given pursuit?

John Stuart Mill famously said: It is quite compatible with the principle of utility to recognise the fact, that some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and more valuable than others. It would ...
Alexander S King's user avatar
7 votes
7 answers
2k views

What is the philosophical value of cultural diversity?

A personal question: As an Arab-American, I try to maintain my children's ties to Arab culture and the Arabic language, going out of my way to make sure that they speak Arabic fluently, and sending ...
Alexander S King's user avatar
6 votes
13 answers
4k views

Do you think evil people are conducting according to principles that are legitimate in their own system of values? [closed]

Do you think people who are phenomenally evil and profiting off of others’ suffering are conducting according to a set of internal values that are legitimate from their point of view, although they ...
Egoless's user avatar
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5 votes
8 answers
2k views

What determines the value of money?

The value of money can be defined as the cost to produce it. It costs, say, 1, to produce 10 000 000 coins or notes, while digital money costs virtually nothing. Of course, it can also be that it ...
user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
365 views

According to Popper, what is logical positivism's role in scientific ethics?

What are the arguments for and against this? Any resources that are easy to read would help
Cygni P's user avatar
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1 answer
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Was Nietzsche against hedonism?

At first, I think there is a difference between utilitarianism and hedonism in that first assumes some kind of utility which can be calculated and last simply puts that it's natural (we are not here ...
rus9384's user avatar
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3 answers
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What does Marx mean by "value form"?

I've been reading some recent books that refer to money as the "value form" in Marx. In English translation, Marx does use the term "value form" and also refers to commodities as "values," in the ...
Nelson Alexander's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
358 views

Why is "re-evaluating all values" necessary to become an Übermensch?

From previous answers it became clear to me that Nietzsche did not think that there has been any Übermensch yet. He identified Goethe as a person that has overcome and disciplined himself to advance ...
DK2AX's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
174 views

How do Burkean conservatives respond to the accusation of cultural relativism?

I sincerely hope that this is the right StackExchange to ask this question. Politics deals with pragmatics and History seldom deals with more abstract questions. As far as I can gather, Burkean ...
James Cook's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
186 views

Is there a universally accepted definition of what constitutes 'science' from a philosophy of science perspective?

The term science gets bandied about so much that it is not always clear what is meant. This is fine in conversation, etc. But it becomes problematic when the question becomes, is there a proper domain ...
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4 votes
4 answers
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Pandora's Box: Is hope evil? [closed]

I know, most questions here are more sophisticated, but this question sparked in my mind some time ago: Is hope a bad thing? The reason I got to this idea is that I had a hard time with lots of ...
miep's user avatar
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4 votes
3 answers
247 views

What is the relationship between qualia and the fact/value dichotomy

Has anyone examined the relationship between qualia and the fact/value dichotomy? Consider a functional description of pain: Those who disagree with functionalism, typically do so because it leaves ...
Alexander S King's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
263 views

How can political philosophy and moral philosophy differ in the context of moral limits on the market?

When I ask this question, I'm specifically referencing ideas posited by theorists like Michael Sandel (The Tanner Lectures - What Money Can't Buy), Elizabeth Anderson (The Ethical Limitations of the ...
xxWallflower's user avatar
4 votes
6 answers
401 views

Nature of Values: Is There Such a Thing as a Universal Value?

Introduction The inquiry into the nature of values isn't merely theoretical; it is a matter of existential importance, especially when the values you've grown up with have been rooted in deception, ...
Davit Janashia's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
123 views

"No one is evil/guilty". Anyone who held this position?

What I mean is that no one deserves punishment. Each time someone is imprisoned or punished in different ways, it is not a win, but always a loss. In particular, lack of technology. In particular, ...
rus9384's user avatar
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3 votes
5 answers
849 views

Where exactly does the value of an individual human lie?

I mean to ask where the value of a human lies, not within the context of the universe but within the room of humanity. What exactly makes a human important? And, is it always something she puts out ...
icyrus's user avatar
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2 answers
441 views

What role do values have in science according to Popper?

I have read a lot about Popper but I still can not answer. What is the role of values in Popper's philosophy? What role do they have in science according to Popper?
syedcph's user avatar
  • 61
3 votes
1 answer
33 views

Can the fact/value distinction be drawn on any conception of facts, or only some of these?

The SEP article on facts goes over many conceptions of these things. Sec. 5 of the article on correspondence theories of truth lists the following objection at its end: All facts, even the most ...
Kristian Berry's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
77 views

Does moral anti-realism preclude anyone from being a better judge of value?

It seems to me that moral anti-realism, by which I mean the view that no judgments of intrinsic value are true, implies that nothing is intrinsically better or worse. Does this preclude the idea ...
user's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
219 views

If it's impossible to separate science from metaphysics, is it is also impossible to separate science from ethics and values?

One of the most important results in philosophy of science is that every observation is "theory-laden", i.e. that the outcome of any scientific experiment is affected by the theoretical ...
Alexander S King's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
213 views

Instrumentalist value theory. Is it morally nihilistic? Is it science?

I could not give a better name for this theory, so I call it "Instrumentalist value theory". According to this theory nothing is intrinsically valuable. Nothing and no one can be treated as ends, but ...
rus9384's user avatar
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2 votes
7 answers
255 views

If we can't know whether a divine being exists, would that being be unimportant even if it did exist?

This is what I thought at first (by "objectively important," we mean this in the sense of naive moral realism, at least): If there were an ultimately powerful, knowledgeable, and good being,...
Kristian Berry's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
865 views

Why are equality and fairness valued so highly?

Some philosophies, such as Egalitarianism, highly value equality and fairness. My question is, why? What is so great about equality and fairness? For example, the Soviet Union was much more equal ...
PyRulez's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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The differences of Pinker and Vervaeke on the enlightenement?

So I was hearing a podcast where Vervaeke says: Steven (Pinker) has some good things to say and he's a good cognitive scientist, but the enlightenment is not sort of, religious neutral. The ...
More Anonymous's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
176 views

Why do rational beings care about the dead?

Anthropologists tell us that home sapiens are concerned about "others," even after they die. In settled (as opposed to nomadic) societies this concern seems to catalyze beliefs, rituals, and ...
Nelson Alexander's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
95 views

Assuming meta-ethical subjective relativism, what is the bearer of value?

Is it the particular condition of concrete events, objects, or actions that are valuable for their own sake? Or is it particular mental states of observers that are the bearers, and creators, of value?...
Bonj's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
184 views

What is the axiological basis of the preference of truth to falsity?

Axiologically speaking, why is truth the preferred logical value by humans? In general, why do we prefer true statements to false ones? What about the value of true makes a statement "right,"...
tox123's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
83 views

Does "intrinsic" mean independently of anything else?

I believe that 'intrinsic' quality has, in some sense, itself as its origin. E.g. The intrinsic value of something is said to be the value that that thing has “in itself,” or “for its own sake,” ...
anon's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
775 views

Are values dominant behaviours of a society, or are they personal?

My lecturer told me: "Values are the dominant behaviours and beliefs of a society or a group" and that values have nothing to do with individuals. But then on other sites I have read things such ...
K-Feldspar's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
115 views

What are some good personal reasons to engage with philosophy?

Background: I've read Bertrand Russell's essay on the value of philosophy, and a small bit of Rorty. A few non-knowlege-centric reasons for engaging with philosophy I've come across and am open to: ...
user avatar
2 votes
6 answers
148 views

How is/was "good" (as the contrary of bad) defined? [closed]

As Nietzsche differentiated there are two kinds of good: this question's focus is on the contrary of bad, not the contrary of evil. There are quite a lot of possible ways to define the common term "...
inetphantom's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
95 views

Does anyone say that for some things to be fake just means that those things are not good?

Does anyone say that for some things to be fake just means that those things are not good? Sorry for the very convoluted sounding question, some brief background might help? I remember a snippet from ...
user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
87 views

Ethical values according to Polanyi

What role do (ethical) values have in science according to Polanyi and Kuhn? How does Polanyi define tacit knowledge and what view would Popper and Kuhn have on tacit knowledge?
syedcph's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
40 views

Is "intrinsic value" an intelligible concept?

It's easy to talk in terms of things having intrinsic value, and it often sounds as though philosophers take it for granted that this is a coherent concept. But it seems to me that "to be ...
Micah's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
91 views

Do Nietzsche's values justify some actions?

Do Nietzsche's values justify some actions? I'm asking because if so then my entirely trivial, or at least unfocused, appropriation of his ideas can be easily made more elegant, or at least more ...
user's user avatar
  • 21
1 vote
6 answers
7k views

Is Selfishness ethical or unethical? [closed]

I have always seen people first care for themselves and then for others. On the contrary, it doesn't seem wrong as self-interest is indispensable. But is acting for own interest and not caring about ...
user99's user avatar
  • 11
1 vote
2 answers
261 views

What does "Normative" Mean?

I was reading the SEP articles on aesthetic judgment and had a really hard time understanding some parts. What it came down to is that they were using a definition of 'normative' I did not know. The ...
E Tam's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
42 views

If p then it is not obligatory to know p and if not p then it is not obligatory to know not p → not obligatory to know p or not p?

Suppose that if I am happy I am not obliged to know it, and if I am not happy I am not obliged to know it, then does that mean that I am not obliged to know if I am happy or not? It seems non ...
user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
117 views

At odds virtues

Asked in psych SE and was re-routed here [1]. What if anything has been written about the tensions between commonly accepted virtues? Here's the small list I have as an example: Honesty and Kindness. ...
geofflittle's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
167 views

Why is truth considered a value in Western Philosphy?

In general I notice that a lot of Western philosophy emphasizes truth as a value. For example, John Vervaeke argues truth as value using the following argument (to paraphrase): "Would you want to ...
More Anonymous's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
141 views

What is the relationship between values and meaning (in life)?

Please correct me if you think I am wrong, but it has become apparent to me that meaning - in the senses of significance of one's own life, purpose and sense-making - and values are inextricably ...
Brian Connelly's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
122 views

What informs the value theory one practices?

Stanford Encyclopedia states: "In its broadest sense, “value theory” is a catch-all label used to encompass all branches of moral philosophy, social and political philosophy, aesthetics, and ...
More Anonymous's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
100 views

Is there an aspect of the person that is outside time and or size? Does anyone argue that to defeat nihilism?

Is there an aspect of the person that is outside time or scale? Does anyone argue that to defeat nihilism, and does that come up in discussing value nihilism? I just think that anyone who claims that ...
user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
186 views

What are some arguments for the metaphysical specialty of life or consciousness

There are certain people who consider conscious beings or "life", however that is define, to be important in the sense that there is some form of intrinsic value in them or that they are axiomatically ...
user289661's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
41 views

Initial/terminal values in a category of values (instead of intrinsic/final vs. extrinsic/instrumental values)

It seems as if the concept of intrinsic value is so unclear and/or unstable that we can't even tell whether (or when) it is transitiveT: First, there is the possibility that the relation of intrinsic ...
Kristian Berry's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
36 views

Value from arbitrary restriction vs value from sharing

Let's take a simplifying example to illustrate two opposite worldviews: Some people see value in intangible things when access to these things is restricted as if sharing was leading to a value loss: ...
Vincent's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
62 views

Question about the relationship between matter and value

Seems most or all of our expressions of material things are stated in various values--36' long, 120 volts, .192mm diameter, etc. Does this suggest the possibility that matter is just value, i.e., ...
Blake's user avatar
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0 votes
3 answers
159 views

Can philosophy say that these precepts are wrong?

If we take the ambiguous nature[1] (in its current form) of the sixth commandment... Thou shalt not kill ...we must remember that Jesus instructed his followers to forgive[2], that none are ...
Willtech's user avatar
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