0.2.0 Introduction to Value Choices

Version 1.1 June 2024                                   Previous Version

Many people are confused about where our values come from.  Many religious people think values come from God.  Some atheists would like to use science to somehow extract values.  Some philosophers argue there is no objective basis for any values.  Some (such as Anwar Ibrahim) say that the works of Shakespeare are all we need to determine values.  They are all misguided. 

Our choices reflect our values, and our values guide our choices.

This is an action based criteria, focussed on our behaviour.  Academic discussion about matters which have no impact on our daily life, is worthwhile, but not our focus here.

●      For instance, goodness and virtue may exist in some people, but we don’t care if it doesn’t affect the rest of the world, not even their families.

All our choices are based on our beliefs about the world, what is real.  We explain how meaning and purpose come when we find our roles in a universal narrative.

●   Our core values primarily come from our philosophy, or are part of our philosophy, the path we choose to follow.  Core values are the outcomes of our core choices.

Derived values are alternative ways of phrasing our core values, or combining them in some way, derived from the meanings of the words, but not in any way secondary to core values.

●   Science and history don’t provide core values, but help us to work out how to make the best choices to put into effect our core values, so that our actions support what we most value.

We learn effecting values from science and history. These are secondary to core values.  New evidence or insights may come to light that shows we need to revise our effecting values, because they no longer support our core values.  We learn from experience.

In history we learn ancillary values, tertiary values such as courage and persistence, which we value only when they support core, derived or effecting values, rather than “evil” purposes.

●   Religion, despite what many people think, is not the source of our values but provides ways to express and communicate them, in narratives, parables, rituals, liturgy, etc.  If we believe in the supernatural, we still need to work out for ourselves what to value, so we know what is just.

●   Culture, media and the arts also explore ways to express our values, and they strongly influence what we value.  They don’t actually provide core values, but can present effecting values. 

●   The rules and guidelines we adopt in our personal practice reflect the core and derived values from our philosophy, supported by effecting and ancillary values from science and history. 

●   In Politics, our political action reflects our personal values as we act in the wider community.

In the detailed sections we look at what values we get from each of these domains.

So let’s start with our theoretical analysis.  What is our core approach to life?