Values are standards of behavior based on one’s belief & preferences. A person has his or her own set of values / preferences / likes and dislikes. Like one can have preference for hard work, objectivity & honesty. Similarly, another person can have preference for good living standard material success or job security.
In general, values can be of the following types:
Therefore, values can lead to
-
-
- Morality
- Ethicality
-
Since, Values are standards of behavior based on individual preferences, they may not always have connotations of rightness & wrongness rather they are the standards preferred by the individuals. Infact, each and every human behavior in day-to-day life is not subject to its evaluation from rightness or wrongness perspective. For example: a person can have standards for good eating behavior, like coffee instead of tea, but it has nothing to do with the moral aspect.
However when values are analyzed from rightness / wrongness perspective i.e. in general, people are free to have the values they like, but a society is concerned about inculcating right values. It’s in this context that when moral elements come in values and standards of behavior that some individual standards would be nothing but moral standards and in that case values guide model behavior. Similarly, values will also guide ethical behavior like universal values, human values. It means in this context of morality and ethics, value work as a guide for both.
Even if values guide ethics and universal values are nothing but universal principles of ethics, still there are differences between values and ethics.
| VALUES | ETHICS |
|---|---|
| • Values may not always have moral relevance | • Ethics inherent quality is moral element |
| • It may be based on individual standards | • It has universal standard |
| • Values give motivation for action • Example: People enjoying burning firecrackers | • It restricts human actions • Example: Ethics restrict people burning crackers |
Note: All ethical standards /principles of ethics are also principles of values. Its the same for morality. All values are neither moral or ethical.
Spread the Word
