We explain what moral values are, how they were conceived from Kant’s ideas and their influence on human behavior.
Moral values are a model of behavior and have an ideal character.
What are moral values?
Moral values are fundamental principles that guide judgment about what is considered right or wrong from an ethical perspective.. Like ethical values, but in the moral sphere, they serve the function of being a model of behavior, and have an ideal character.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) argued that moral values are “moral ideas of practical perfection.” Beyond Kant’s claims to universalism, the truth is that each society, in each given time and place, puts into practice different moral values according to the context.
The question of the nature of values, that is, whether they change or should always remain the same, is a matter for the ethics as a philosophical discipline, and of morality as a field of practical study of ethics itself.
Frequent questions
What are moral values?
Moral values are the fundamental principles of morality.
How have moral values been conceived since Kant’s ideas, and how do they influence human behavior?
Kant thinks that moral values are regulative maxims, which function as a model for moral behavior. Moral values can guide people’s actions and choices, affecting their conduct in the pursuit of moral ideals and desirable practices.
What does axiology study and what is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic values in philosophy?
Axiology studies the nature of values and value judgments. It distinguishes between intrinsic values (good in themselves) and extrinsic values (valued for reasons external to themselves).
The moral
Morality is the branch of philosophy that studies the set of beliefs, customs, norms and values of a society. Morality is also used to refer to individual or collective behavior.
The word “moral” comes from Latin mor either moriswhich means “custom” or “character”. In Greece, morality was the name given to the set of customs that made up the ethical character of people.
From the Middle Ages onwards, however, a distinction was made between theoretical and practical morality. Both are related to the idea of regulating behaviour.
For Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher from the 18th century, morality acts according to an autonomous principle, which functions by itself. From this principle arises the character of moral value.
Moral value according to Kant
For Kant, value acquires a moral character in practical action.
Kant introduces the concept of value from the Ethics, distinguishing between “observance” and “valuation” of morality. “Valuation” considers practical ideas such as virtue and the “supreme good”, summarized in the moral law. In his book Groundwork of the Metaphysics of MoralsKant identifies “valuation” with “moral value” or moral character.
For Kant, value takes on a moral character in practical action. Moral values are models or rules of moral action, with a dignity price rather than a market price. Moral values are “moral ideas of practical perfection,” emphasizing wisdom and holiness as regulative exemplars.
Moral values and axiology
Moral values, the subject of debate in ethics and philosophy, are fundamental principles that guide moral and aesthetic judgments in human conduct. Throughout history, philosophers such as David Hume (1711–1776) have argued that moral values have no intrinsic reality and are merely subjective expressions with no real meaning. In contrast, thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) have argued that values have an impact even on scientific issues and everyday observations.
However, since the ideas of Immanuel Kant, moral values have been conceived as regulative maxims and desirable practices that direct moral behavior. The term “value” has its roots in the Greek axios meaning “worthy of appreciation” or “estimable.” These regulative ideals may vary according to the subjectivity of individuals, but are also influenced by the communities and societies in which they develop. Concepts such as “kindness,” “sincerity,” “humility,” and “responsibility” are transmitted from generation to generation and have been maintained throughout human history, reinforcing their collective and shared character.
In the field of axiology, which is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of values and value judgments, the distinction between intrinsic value and extrinsic value is explored. An extrinsic value is one that is considered good for reasons external to itself, while something with intrinsic value is valued for its own sake. Within this discipline, there are monistic theories that defend that there is only one type of intrinsic value, such as hedonism.
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References
- Aristotle (2011). Nicomachean Ethicsin Pallí, J. (trans.), Aristotle (RBA ed., volume 3), Gredos.
- Kant, I. (1977). Critique of Pure Reason. Porrúa.
- Kant, I. (2020). Critique of Practical Reason (Vol. 1). Editorial Verbum.
- Bilbeny, N. (1992). How to think about moral values based on Kant? Table: Thought Notebooks21-26.
- Bergson, H. (1998). The two sources of morality and religion. Tech.
- Carrión, A. (2008). The meaning of value, or the value in question. Universities10, 43-57.
- Hoyos Valdés, D. (2015). Aesthetic value and moral value. Dissertations4, 1-10.