What are values? What makes something valuable? What is value based on? Do we have biased values? Do we all find the same things valuable?
Today in my college english class we studied axiology. Axiology is the study of the nature of value and valuation, and of the kinds of things that are valuable.
When I think of the word value, I think of two different meanings. I think of a moral or something I believe in, and I think of something having worth. I am going to talk about the things that have worth. Things of worth to me include my family, my husband, my home, my car, my education, my body, music, my mind, my family dog, food, water, and the list goes on. My professor asked us all why the things that we said had value, had value to us.
First of all, Maslow was wrong.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs states that the MOST important thing to us as humans is physiological. This means food and water. Food and water is not our priority. We skip meals all the time. Survival is not our priority. What we crave most is love, happiness, and relationships. When people take their life, it isn’t because they don’t have food or water or because their focused on surviving. People take their life most often because they feel unloved, without meaningful relationships, and are unhappy.
I don’t care who you are; whether you’re a mother, a teacher, a CEO of some big company, a priest, a student, a professional athlete, or a musician. Us as humans prioritize our happiness, love, and meaningful relationships over everything else. These are our biggest values.
