ETHICS Q & A

Recently Posted Question:

What is the relationship between Ethics and Values?

Response:

The question invites making the sorts of distinctions characteristic of academic philosophy, but it is important not to lose sight of more widely held understandings of the notions of “ethics” and “values.” A short answer about the relationship between ethics and values is relatively straightforward: one’s ethics is the systematization and application of one’s values. “Ethics” is also a term for an academic discipline that studies what to value, how to systematize our values, and how to apply them.

In contemporary political debate, we often hear references to issues that bear on one’s values. Abortion is an obvious case of an issue that divides us according to our values. Values (respect, honesty, happiness, truth, etc.) are taken to be our fundamental commitments. Often, our values are backed up by certain conceptions of ourselves – as, say, creations of God or as rational beings. Insofar as one’s values are connected to each other in a coherent way, they are parts of one’s ethics.

It is hardly surprising that when people’s values differ, so do their ethics. But people with similar values on one level may order or structure them differently and, therefore, end up with different ethics, as well. For instance, two people may each value respect and honesty, but while one may see their significance as deriving ultimately from God’s will, the other may see their value in their contribution to general welfare. Our agreement on certain values – even when we disagree over the source of their value – often allows for political agreement despite different basic worldviews.

It might also be useful to distinguish between a value and something’s having value. It is at least conceivable that someone might have a value—i.e., value something--without the object of their value actually having value. I might value my stamp collection very much, but that doesn’t obviously mean that it has value. On the other hand, some claim that value can in fact be conferred on things by certain sorts of creatures – like God, or human beings – that have a power to imbue things with significance through the means of valuing. Insofar as I desire or care about something, it may seem to take on value. Additionally, one might think that some things have value regardless of whether anyone values them (would a beautiful vista lack value if humans were not on Earth to appreciate it?).

What makes something valuable, i.e. something really of value? It looks like not everything people value is valuable. It is important, then, to keep the idea of something valued distinct from the idea of something valuable. The question of what is really valuable gets to the heart of ethics, and moves us beyond the confines of your question. But new insights into what is valuable may profoundly affect one’s ethics – simply consider how the modern decline in religious-based ethics has been accompanied by a search for non-divine sources of value. We might then conclude that one’s values are one’s beliefs about what is valuable and about what the source of that value is.
All of this is also connected, of course, to the notion of “morality.” What is moral and what is ethical are normally taken to be the same, and so ethics and moral philosophy are also the same. I support this reading, though some ethicists use the words to mark out distinct territories. For instance, on one view, ethics concerns the general question of how to live well, while morality is more narrowly focused on particular subset of duties or obligations. It may prove useful to employ the words in some such way.

For further reading of an introductory nature, you might consider either Simon Blackburn’s Being Good, or James Rachels’ The Elements of Moral Philosophy.

These essays are intended to foster debate and discussion on the issue addressed. This essay does not necessarily reflect the views of the Parr Center for Ethics or any of its fellows.

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