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 not inherent in them because of their internal structure, that is, they are not given by nature, they are nothing but subjective assessments of specific properties involved in the field of social life. 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. For example, philosophy considers the concept of value as follows: it is the socio-cultural, personal significance of specific objects. In psychology, by value is meant all those objects of the society surrounding the individual that are of value to him. This term in this case is closely related to motivation. But in sociology, values are understood as those concepts that are called the totality of goals, conditions, phenomena worthy of what people strive for. As you can see, in this case, too, there is a connection with motivation. In addition, from the point of view of these social sciences, the following types of values exist: 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 taken together. Of course, they have nothing to do with the economy. In this science, the concept of value is considered as the value of objects. At the same time, two types of it are distinguished: consumer and exchange value. The former are of one value or another for consumers, depending on the degree of usefulness of the product or its ability to satisfy human needs, and the latter are valuable in that they are suitable for exchange, and the degree of their significance is determined by the ratio obtained with equivalent exchange. That is, the more a person realizes his dependence on a given object, the higher its value. People living in cities are completely dependent on money, because they need them to purchase the most necessary goods, namely food. For rural residents, the 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 this concept is the statement that values are all those objects and phenomena that are able to satisfy human needs. They can be material, that is, tangible, and 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 attributes of a particular 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 equivalents. After all, the first is not only positive, but also negative, but value is always positive. What can satisfy the needs of people cannot be negative, although here everything is relative …
Representatives of the Austrian school believe that the basic values are a specific amount of goods or goods 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 short, the relationship between quantity and need is important here. According to this theory, the benefits that exist in unlimited quantities, for example, water, air, etc., do not have special significance, since they are non-economic. But the benefits, the amount of which does not satisfy the need, that is, there are fewer than necessary, 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. In this regard, values tend to change over time. What was significant for this society may not be so for the next generation. And we see this from our own experience. If you look back, you will notice that the values of the generations of our parents and ours are very different from each other.
Core 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 higher-order goods (means of production). However, both of them contribute to the life of society, as well as improving the quality of life of its members. A spiritual values people need for the formation and further development of their worldviews, as well as worldviews. 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 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, and this, in turn, affects the formation of his personality. Another important role of values in society is that a person seeks to create new benefits, while maintaining old, 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, by type of needs. According to her, material and spiritual values are distinguished. But according to their significance, the latter are false and true. Classification is also carried out by field of activity, depending on their carrier, and by time of action. According to the first, they distinguish between economic, religious and aesthetic, the second - universal, group and personal 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 already managed to tell you above, everything is clear with them. These are all material goods that surround us, which make our life possible. As for the spiritual, they are components of the inner world of people. And the source categories here are good and evil. The former contribute to happiness, and the latter - all that leads to destruction and is the cause of discontent and misfortune. Spiritual - these are true values. However, to be such, they must coincide with significance.
Religious and aesthetic values
Religion is based on unconditional faith in God, and it does not require any evidence. 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. And 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. Beauty is the main category of aesthetic value. Creative people devote their lives to creating beauty, not only for themselves, but also for others, thereby wanting to give others true joy, delight, admiration.
Personal values
Each person has his own personal orientation. And they can differ radically from different people. That which has significance in the eyes of one may not be valuable to the other. For example, classical music, which leads to a state of ecstasy of lovers of this genre, may seem boring and uninteresting to someone. Factors such as upbringing, education, social circle, environment, etc., have a great influence on the values of a person. Of course, the family has the most powerful effect on a person. This is the environment in which a person begins his primary development. He gets the first idea of values in his family (group values), but with age he can accept some of them and reject others.
The following types of values are personal:
- those that are components of the meaning of human life;
- the most common semantic formations that are based on reflexes;
- beliefs that relate to desired behavior or to the completion of something;
- objects and phenomena to which the individual has a weakness or is simply not indifferent;
- that which is important for each person, and that which he considers to be his property.
These are the types of personality values.
