6.0.1 Personal Values - Overview

Version 1.3 May 2023                     (Previous Version)

Identifying what we value provides a method to make ongoing day to day choices.  How we choose our values is a major part of this Reasonable Global Way.

We may have doubts about the correct path, but we can identify some paths that are definitely wrong.  Just as consistency and coherence are our primary drivers when seeking the truth (see Chapter 1.1 Truth), they are also primary drivers for eliminating false alternatives and choosing our core values.

We show in Part Four (4.0 Religion) that no traditional religious interpretation provides a comprehensive path – of beliefs and values – that is coherent and consistent with reality.

There is a plethora of self-help books, some religious, some scientific, and many based on pop culture and pseudoscience.  Many say they provide techniques for us to become successful.  Many say they teach us how to be happy, and many of us assume that happiness is perhaps the greatest good.  But the more we pursue happiness itself the less likely we are to be happy. 

In our analysis of philosophy, science, history, religion and culture, we make reasonable conclusions about the nature of reality, as best we can understand it, and we outline the options available to us to respond to that reality.  As part of this analysis we make reasonable choices, which reflect our values.  Our ultimate goal is to find meaning and purpose in our daily life.

We choose as our core personal values: Truth, Diversity, Reality, Life, Love, Beauty, Responsibility, Equality and Hope. 

·  These are coherent.  Each one contributes to a comprehensive path.

·  These choices don’t contradict each other.  We think they are orthogonal (independent).

·  They are also consistent with our analysis of reality, in philosophy, and in science and history. 

·  We can see reasonable values expressed in selected parts of traditional religion and culture.

We can infer, from the meaning of our core values, what we call derived values: Authenticity, Uncertainty, Confidence, Struggle, Compassion, Insight, Justice, Human Rights and Faith.

We use our analysis of the world, especially in science and history to work out the practical choices – the effecting values – that help us to implement core and derived values, such as: Openness & Transparency, Consideration & Respect, Qualified Assertiveness, Sustainable Survival, Positive Action, Elegance & Skill, Rule of Law, Freedom & Democracy and Courage.

Once we define our long term goals, consistent with our values, in both personal and political spheres, the best way to achieve them becomes primarily a factual question.

We are all driven by competitive as well as cooperative instincts.  We all need to control ourselves to get what we want in the long term.  We all need self-discipline.  But the ‘military’ virtues, such as courage, loyalty and honour, which evolved to make personal threats credible, are laudable only when they support our core values, rather than our clan, state or religion: they are ancillary values.

We work through the next level of detail on each of the above issues (more).  After considering this evidence, we’ve looked for a way to state our conclusions briefly, and we come to the following summary.

Is this the best way to state our conclusions in this area?  Click on feedback, or add a comment below, if you can improve the substance or the phrasing.

   more                                                             Statement 28

In our personal lives we pursue not just happiness, but well-being – fulfillment or flourishing.