There are several ways to understand “people have different values”:
The easy case: Japanese people in Tokyo value each other more than they value Mexicans in Mexico, and vice-versa. This falls squarely in my second category. I don’t think there’s too much debate about whether those people “really” value each other that way.
The tougher case: some people claim to value, say, “freedom”, whereas others claim to value “marriage” or “respecting your elders” or “art” or “self-actualization” (and more complicated values). And often those differences will lead to political opposition, trying to pull laws one way or another.
BUT, I think that this is the wrong approach. Saying “our values are different” is a curiosity stopper, people should investigate whether they really have different values, or whether they just disagree about something empirical (like “does grading children help them learn in the long run?” or “which of social taboos around sex, or sex education is more effective at preventing unwanted teenage pregnancies?”), and people should spend more effort trying to resolve their differences and/or look for compromises that satisfy everybody, rather than taking sides and defending “their side”.
people should spend more effort trying to resolve their differences and/or look for compromises that satisfy everybody, rather than taking sides and defending “their side”.
Case in point. This a value judgement that not everybody shares.
Calling this a “value” does not clear things up here (I view the word “value” with suspicion, it’s a bit of a curiosity stopper).
If by that you mean a terminal value, then I don’t think humans really differ much in terms of terminal values (except when it comes to “I value myself, you value yourself”, etc.), though they may often act as if they did (i.e. consider their “enemies” to be mutants) - I think people (even here) are too quick to claim that their values are Terminal Values That Can’t Be Changed And Are Not Up For Discussion.
If you mean instrumental value, then maybe all people don’t share that value, but they should (because it indirectly helps them reach their other values), for roughly the same reason should cooperate on the prisoner’s dilemma with “others like them”.
There are several ways to understand “people have different values”:
The easy case: Japanese people in Tokyo value each other more than they value Mexicans in Mexico, and vice-versa. This falls squarely in my second category. I don’t think there’s too much debate about whether those people “really” value each other that way.
The tougher case: some people claim to value, say, “freedom”, whereas others claim to value “marriage” or “respecting your elders” or “art” or “self-actualization” (and more complicated values). And often those differences will lead to political opposition, trying to pull laws one way or another.
BUT, I think that this is the wrong approach. Saying “our values are different” is a curiosity stopper, people should investigate whether they really have different values, or whether they just disagree about something empirical (like “does grading children help them learn in the long run?” or “which of social taboos around sex, or sex education is more effective at preventing unwanted teenage pregnancies?”), and people should spend more effort trying to resolve their differences and/or look for compromises that satisfy everybody, rather than taking sides and defending “their side”.
Case in point. This a value judgement that not everybody shares.
Calling this a “value” does not clear things up here (I view the word “value” with suspicion, it’s a bit of a curiosity stopper).
If by that you mean a terminal value, then I don’t think humans really differ much in terms of terminal values (except when it comes to “I value myself, you value yourself”, etc.), though they may often act as if they did (i.e. consider their “enemies” to be mutants) - I think people (even here) are too quick to claim that their values are Terminal Values That Can’t Be Changed And Are Not Up For Discussion.
If you mean instrumental value, then maybe all people don’t share that value, but they should (because it indirectly helps them reach their other values), for roughly the same reason should cooperate on the prisoner’s dilemma with “others like them”.
Why?