What is a value?

Raths, Harmin, and Simon a series of criteria for values

  1. A value must be chosen freely. If it is something used guide one's life, it cannot be dependent on some authority figure enforcing the value. It must be free from coercion. (I think of children who go to church because their parents made them; this I not choosing freely.)
  2. A value is always chosen from among alternatives. Obviously, there can be no choice if there are no alternatives from which to choose. (It makes no sense, for example, to say one values eating. One really has no choice in the matter. On the other hand, many of us value what we eat!)
  3. A value results from a choice made after thoughtful consideration of choices. Impulsive or thoughtless choices do not lead to values. For something to guide one's life meaningfully, it must come about by carefully weighing the consequences. Only then can we make intelligent choices. (One's view on abortion would be a good example here.)
  4. When we value something, it has a positive quality for us. We prize it, cherish it, esteem it, respect it, hold it deal. Values flow from choices we are glad we made. ( Friends, family. . . )
  5. When we have chosen something freely after consideration of alternatives, when we are proud of our choice, glad to be associated with it, we are willing to affirm our values publicly. We may even want to champion them. ( Do we get people to sign petitions for or against liquor by the drink? Are we willing to give time and money to a cause?
  6. When we have a value, it shows up in every aspect of our living. We spend money on things we value. We budget time and energy for out values. (The person who talks about something but never does anything about it is not speaking of his values.)
  7. Values tend to have a persistence and assume a pattern in our lives. (They are not one time occurrences.)

 

A value started with a belief you were proud of and were willing to affirm, where you had chosen it from alternatives with regard to possible consequences and free from outside pressure to choose any particular thing, and where you had taken action on this belief other than to talk about it and had done this in a regular pattern, not just sporadic times.