Editing Value theory (section)

{{short description|Systematic study of values}}
{{good article}}
{{distinguish|Theory of value (economics)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
'''Value theory''', also called '''''axiology''''', studies the nature, sources, and types of [[Value (ethics and social sciences)|values]]. It is a branch of [[philosophy]] and an interdisciplinary field closely associated with [[social sciences]] such as [[economics]], [[sociology]], [[anthropology]], and [[psychology]].

Value is the worth of something, usually understood as covering both positive and negative degrees corresponding to the terms ''[[good]]'' and ''bad''. Values influence many human endeavors related to [[emotion]], [[decision-making]], and [[Action (philosophy)|action]]. Value theorists distinguish various types of values, like the contrast between [[Instrumental and intrinsic value|intrinsic and instrumental value]]. An entity has [[Intrinsic value (ethics)|intrinsic value]] if it is good in itself, independent of external factors. An entity has instrumental value if it is useful as a means leading to other good things. Other classifications focus on the type of benefit, including economic, moral, political, aesthetic, and religious values. Further categorizations distinguish absolute values from values that are relative to something else.

Value [[Philosophical realism|realists]] state that values exist as [[Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy)|objective]] features of reality. Anti-realists reject this, with some seeing values as subjective human creations and others viewing value statements as meaningless. Regarding the sources of value, [[hedonism|hedonists]] argue that only [[pleasure]] has intrinsic value, whereas desire theorists discuss [[desire]]s as the ultimate source of value. [[Perfectionism (philosophy)|Perfectionism]], another approach, emphasizes the cultivation of characteristic human abilities. Value [[Pluralism (philosophy)|pluralism]] identifies diverse sources of intrinsic value, raising the issue of whether values belonging to different types are comparable. Value theorists employ various [[Philosophical methodology|methods of inquiry]], ranging from [[Ethical intuitionism|reliance on intuitions]] and [[thought experiments]] to the analysis of language, [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|description of first-person experience]], observation of behavior, and [[Survey (human research)|surveys]].

[[Ethics]], a related field, focuses primarily on [[Normativity|normative]] concepts of right behavior, whereas value theory explores [[evaluation|evaluative]] concepts about what is good. In economics, [[Value (economics)#Theories|theories of value]] are frameworks to assess and explain the economic value of [[Commodity|commodities]]. Sociology and anthropology examine values as aspects of societies and cultures, reflecting dominant preferences and beliefs. Psychologists tend to understand values as abstract [[motivational]] goals that shape an individual's [[personality]]. The roots of value theory lie in [[ancient period|antiquity]] as reflections on the [[highest good]] that humans should pursue. Diverse traditions contributed to this area of thought during the [[Medieval philosophy|medieval]] and [[early modern philosophy|early modern periods]], but it was only established as a distinct discipline in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.