Value is the significance, importance, usefulness and usefulness of something. Outwardly, it acts as one of the properties of objects or phenomena. But their usefulness and significance are inherent in them not by virtue of their internal structure, that is, they are not given by nature, they are nothing more than subjective assessments of specific properties involved in the field of social being. People are interested in them and feel the need for them. The Constitution of the Russian Federation says that the highest value is the person himself, his freedom and rights.
The use of the concept of value in various sciences
Depending on what kind of science is studying this phenomenon in society, there are several approaches to its use. So, for example, philosophy considers the concept of value as follows: it is the socio-cultural, personal significance of specific objects. In psychology, value is understood as all those objects of the society surrounding the individual that are of value to him. This term, in this case, is closely relatedwith motivation. But in sociology, values are understood as those concepts that are called sets of goals, states, phenomena worthy of people striving for them. As you can see, in this case, there is a connection with motivation. In addition, from the point of view of these social sciences, there are the following types of values: material and spiritual. The latter are also called eternal values. They are not tangible, but sometimes they are much more important for society than all material objects put together. Of course, they have nothing to do with economics. In this science, the concept of value is considered as the cost of objects. There are two types of value: use value and exchange value. The former represent one or another value for consumers, depending on the degree of usefulness of the product or its ability to satisfy human needs, and the latter are valuable because they are suitable for exchange, and the degree of their significance is determined by the ratio that is obtained during an equivalent exchange. That is, the more a person is aware of his dependence on a given object, the higher its value. People living in cities are completely dependent on money, because they need it to purchase the most necessary goods, namely food. For rural residents, monetary dependence is not as great as in the first case, since they can get the products necessary for life regardless of the availability of money, for example, from their own garden.
Different definitions of values
The simplest definition of thisconcept is the statement that values are all those objects and phenomena that can satisfy human needs. They can be material, that is, tangible, or they can be abstract, like love, happiness, etc. By the way, the totality of values that are inherent in a particular person or group is called a value system. Without it, any culture would be meaningless. And here is another definition of value: it is the objective significance of the variety of components (properties and features of an object or phenomenon) of reality, which are determined by the interests and needs of people. The main thing is that they are necessary for a person. However, value and significance are not always equivalent. After all, the first is not only positive, but also negative, but the value is always positive. What satisfies the needs of people cannot be negative, although everything is relative here…
Representatives of the Austrian school believe that core values are a specific amount of goods or benefits that are necessary to meet human needs. The more a person realizes his dependence on the presence of a given object, the higher its value. In a word, the relationship between quantity and need is important here. According to this theory, goods that exist in unlimited quantities, such as water, air, etc., are of little importance because they are non-economic. But the goods, the quantity of which does not satisfy the needs, that is, there are fewer of them thannecessary, are of real value. This view has both many supporters and opponents who fundamentally disagree with this opinion.
Variability of values
This philosophical category has a social nature, as it is formed in the process of practice. As a result, values tend to change over time. What was significant for this society may not be so for future generations. And we see this from our own experience. Looking back, we can see that the values of the generations of our parents and ours differ from each other in many ways.
Main types of values
As noted above, the main types of values are material (contributing to life) and spiritual. The latter give a person moral satisfaction. The main types of material values are the simplest goods (housing, food, household items, clothing, etc.) and goods of a higher order (means of production). However, both of them contribute to the life of society, as well as improving the quality of life of its members. And people need spiritual values for the formation and further development of their worldviews, as well as worldview. They contribute to the spiritual enrichment of the individual.
The role of values in society
This category, in addition to being of some importance to society, also plays a certain role. For example, the development of different values by a person contributes to the acquisition of social experience, as a result of which he joins the culture, andthis, in turn, influences the formation of his personality. Another important role of values in society is that a person strives to create new goods, while maintaining the old, already existing ones. In addition, the value of thoughts, actions, various things is expressed in how important they are for the process of social development, that is, the progress of society. And on a personal level - the development and self-improvement of a person.
Classification
There are several classifications. For example, according to the types of needs. According to it, material and spiritual values are distinguished. But according to their significance, the latter are false and true. Classification is also carried out by areas of activity, depending on their carrier, and by the time of action. According to the first, economic, religious and aesthetic values are distinguished, the second - universal, group and personality values, and the third - eternal, long-term, short-term and momentary. In principle, there are other classifications, but they are too narrow.
Material and spiritual values
Regarding the first, we have already managed to tell above, everything is clear with them. These are all the material goods that surround us that make our life possible. As for the spiritual, they are components of the inner world of people. And the initial categories here are good and evil. The first contribute to happiness, and the second - everything that leads to destruction and is the cause of discontent and unhappiness. Spiritual - these are the true values. However, in order to bethey must match the significance.
Religious and aesthetic values
Religion is based on unconditional faith in God, and it does not require any proof. Values in this area are guidelines in the life of believers, which are determined by the norms and motives of their actions and behavior in general. Aesthetic values are all that gives a person pleasure. They are directly related to the concept of "beauty". They are associated with creativity, with art. The beautiful is the main category of aesthetic value. Creative people dedicate their lives to creating beauty, not only for themselves, but also for others, wanting to bring true joy, delight, admiration to others.
Personal Values
Each person has their own personal orientation. And they can differ from person to person. What is important in the eyes of one may not be valuable to another. For example, classical music, which brings lovers of this genre into a state of ecstasy, may seem boring and uninteresting to someone. Personal values are greatly influenced by factors such as upbringing, education, social circle, environment, etc. Of course, the family has the strongest influence on a person. This is the environment in which a person begins his primary development. He gets his first idea of values in his family (group values), but with age he may accept some of them and reject others.
To personalinclude the following types of values:
- those that are components of the meaning of human life;
- the most common semantic formations based on reflexes;
- beliefs that have to do with desired behavior or completing something;
- objects and phenomena to which an individual has a weakness or is simply not indifferent;
- what is important for each person of a person, and what he considers his property.
These are the types of personal values.
A new approach to defining values
Values are opinions (beliefs). Some scientists think so. According to them, these are biased and cold ideas. But when they begin to activate, they mix with feelings, while getting a certain color. Others believe that the main values are the goals that people strive for - equality, freedom, well-being. It is also a way of behavior that contributes to the achievement of these goals: mercy, empathy, honesty, etc. According to the same theory, true values should act as certain standards that guide the assessment or choice of people, actions and events.
