Ethics and Values

Dr. M Rashmi
Department of Social Sciences
VIT University, Vellore

Lecture – 3
Values

Hello friends!

In the previous lecture, we discussed the relevance and scope of ethics. So now you might
have understood the meaning and the issues where ethical conduct is required. Now, let’s
move on to the meaning of values. The moment we hear the term, “value”, some sort of
definitions do come to our mind. Value literally means something that has a price, precious,
dear and worthwhile and one is ready to sacrifice anything for it. In simple terms we can say,
it is the degree of importance of something. It reflects ones attitudes, choices, decisions,
judgments, relationships, dreams and vision. Values can also be defined as the conceptions of
the desirable, which influence selective behaviour. They can be regarded as the criteria and
moral judgement or certain subjective standards through which individuals or groups
distinguish between good or bad, true or false and between ought to be or not to be etc.
It shapes individual personality, social morality and guides individuals to be a part of or
function within distinctive socio-cultural system. Or we can say that it is a set of principles
which guide the standard of behaviour. Without values, life will be chaotic. Values are beliefs
about what is right and what is wrong and what is important in life.
They define the purposes of life and the means of achieving them. According to International
Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences, “all purposive actions fall within the boundaries of
evaluative action. Within purposive actions we can identify three main kinds of value:
conative which signifies a desire or liking, achievement (success versus frustration), and
affective (pleasure versus pain or unpleasantness)”. Well, there are some writers who believe
that anything good or bad is a value, or a value is anything of interest to a human subject.
However, it would be inappropriate to simply extend the meaning of a term to the extent of
making it meaningless or complicated. While discussing values, we also need to understand
another term called norms. Values and norms are deeply related to each other and both are
concerned with accepted assumptions about what is considered to be right or wrong, or what
is defined as desirable or undesirable.
Values constitute the basis of norms and norms depend upon values and are justified through
the standards of “true”, “good” and “beautiful”. When we look at values and norms, we can
say that values are more abstract than norms whereas norms are relatively specific. Let’s
pause for a moment and have a reflection spot. Now answer this question: Based on the
classification of values by the International Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences; competition
falls into which category of value?
a) Conative
b) Affective
c) Achievement

1
Take a moment and think about it. Competition, in very simple terms, is a form of striving or
struggle between two or more persons to attain a common goal which is limited in
availability. It’s a feeling which you can easily relate to your class assessments; the struggle
to become 9 pointers, the struggle to become top ranked student and ultimately to get placed
in a good company with a good package. No doubt there will be pain and pleasure when you
obtain your desired goal or when you fail to attain your target. All of this is associated with
the value of achievement. Hence, option c is the right answer. So coming back to our topic of
discussion, that is norms. Norms are basically the rules or expectations that are socially
enforced through positive and negative reinforcements. For example: you might be
appreciated by your family, teachers and friends for being truthful and loyal in your conduct.
Touching the feet of elders is an expression which signifies respect for elders. The meaning
of this expression varies in different situations, strata and professions. Therefore, as you can
see, the values of respect and obedience to superiors underline various sets of norms related
to widely different institutions such as the family, military, schools, and administrative,
political or religious organisation. So, values involve more of preferences and norms
showcase prescriptions. As human beings we are both creating and fulfilling values. And it is
this particular ability which leads to the formation of our personality and the formation of
groups and institutions in society. Hence, humans are not only the source of values but they
also judge the behaviour involved in day to day functioning of society. We have both
personal and social values. However, even those values which are regarded as personal are
largely acquired by the individual from the society, or a segment of it, to which he/she
belongs. As an individual I have strong adherence towards values like perseverance, humility
and resilience. Apart from these, there are other sets of values like equality, humanity, peace
which can be considered as important from a social perspective. So, with this we come to the
end of this lecture. I hope you might have understood the importance of values in framing our
personality and our society. In the next lecture, we will learn about the two values, truth and
non-violence, now when I say truth and non-violence, who comes to your mind? Yes, it’s
none other than Mohandas Karamchand Gandhiji. Let me end this lecture with a beautiful yet
powerful quote by Maya Angelou who was a famous American poet and a civil rights
activist, “You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated”.

Thank you!