The term value theory designates those economic theories, which assume the prices of the acted goods in principle more objectively (exchange) a value is the basis. Prices are not measured necessarily after this value, since they develop in the play of supply and demand, however have it a tendency to drop back in principle to this value.

Well-known representatives of value theories are David Ricardo and Karl Marx, in particular in its Hauptwerk the capital.

Philosophical value theory

In philosophy by value theory on the one hand the discussion of the function about values in the life and its comparison are understood within cultural systems, above all in addition, the reason of values regarding their its way. Values can e.g. as subjective or objective, when individual or generally accepted are understood.

In naive value realism things, characteristics and functions with values are equated.

The Neukantianismus understands values as being supposed being (William diaper volume 1848 - 1915) and (Heinrich Rickert 1863 - 1936). For Rickert "values (...) are not realnesses, neither physical nor psychological. Their nature exists in its validity, not in their actualness."

In the value idealism (max of Schelers (1874 - 1928) and Nicolai Hartmann (1852 - 1950) values are understood as "ideal Ansichsein", which protects likewise and seizes generally accepted statements like mathematical and logical truths.

The Wertpsychologismus understands values as mental attitudes, which orient themselves at the needs of humans.

The Hedonismus understands values conditioned as by feeling ("desire").

Newer concepts within the psychology and philosophy of emotional intelligence (Peter Schmidt 2005) regard more comprehensively than in the Hedonismus a feeling than, what justifies in the long run values, since only in the evidence of pleasant and unpleasant its (see emotion, value, value conception) valuable its shows up, which does not lead no more to the infinite recourse of analyzing, why something a value is. Values, which are not based on feeling, are against it only "usefulness values as mentioned", thus values as means (as e.g. money, tools, medicines, politics, laws), which must always lead at the end to the final value of feeling, since their value is relative on this final value. Even democracy is therefore only then value, if it also actually leads within the emotional system, in which humans live with one another, to more of feeling. Values, which do not orient themselves at the felt final value, threaten easily in obligation and unfreeness to glide authoritarian behavior and the potentiometer mash. Many historical erroneous trends are to be due to wrongly understood values.

Its way of the values is discussed predominantly since the beginnings of philosophy in the ethics.

See also

• Worth
• Value conception

Literature

• Shed, Richard M.: Moral thinking. Frankfurt 1992.
• Hartmann, Nicolai: Ethics. Berlin 1962.
• Kraft, Victor: The bases of scientific value teachings. Vienna 1951.
• Scheler, max: The formalism in the ethics and the materiale value ethics. Berne 1966.
• Schmidt, Peter: Kraft of the positive feelings. Munich 2001.
• Schmidt, Peter: Scanning. Herten 2005.

Articles in category "Value theory"

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