Chapter Six

Values

Our Compass in Life

The ultimate function for human values is to give us a set of standards that guide our efforts to satisfy our needs and at the same time maintain and enhance our self-esteem. Adhering to a set of values makes it possible to regard ourselves and to be regarded by others as having met societal and institutional standards of morality and competence. In essence, human values consist of a relatively small number of core ideas or beliefs that represent what is desirable. Different people may set priorities among those basic values in a variety of ways. Take, for example, the basic values of freedom and equality. If we value freedom over equality, that gives priority to hierarchy and privilege. If they both are ...

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