I.

Name Plate
Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas
Batangas City
College of Education, Arts and Sciences
Graduate School

Name: Marinela Jade M. Maneja

C/Y/S: Master in Public Administration
S/T/R/D: Philosophy of Values with JPL
Topic: Inherent Human Values
Professor: Dr. Leon R. Ramos Jr.

II. Objectives
At the end of the report, the learners should be able to:
1. Understand the basic concepts on inherent human values;
2. Realize the importance of human values in a sustainable society;
3. Appreciate the essential complementarily between “values” and “skills” to ensure sustained
happiness and prosperity which are the core aspirations of all human beings;
4. And facilitate the development of a Holistic perspective towards life, profession and happiness,
based on a correct understanding of the human reality and the rest of existence.

III. Definition of Terms

 Values - defined as a principle that promotes well-being or prevents harm. “Values are our
guidelines for our success—our paradigm about what is acceptable.”
 Morals - the welfare principles enunciated by the wise people, based on their experience and
wisdom.
 Ethics - refers to a particular set of beliefs, attitudes, and habits of individuals or family or
groups concerned with morals.
 Virtues - desirable attitudes or character traits, motives and emotions that enable us to be
successful and to act in ways that develop our highest potential. They energize and enable us to
pursue the ideals that we have adopted.

IV. Summary of the Report

A. Introduction
This paper is an attempt to explore the importance of human values in the global society.
Human society may not significantly sustain without human values. Hence, it is necessary to talk on
the subject and bring about awareness of human values into the modern society. There is no
denying the fact that the present global society is facing a lot of crises. Human value crisis is a
known fact of the modern society. Indeed, humans are aware of the global and national problems
which they are currently facing. The impact of human activities on the earth in various ways is
placing a significant amount of stress. For instance, the climate change due to global warming.
There seems to be a significant link between the remedial measures and various solutions to
climate change and the practice of human values. It is believed that at the end of the day, it is the
human values which will save the mankind.

If any ethics are primarily to help a person to live a just and righteous life with him/her and in
relation to others, ethics too is similarly oriented towards a righteous life. The personal and social
life of every individual is permeated by a great sense of righteousness. Without this possibility of
constituting the world-view of the community and the possibility of the individuals striving to achieve
it, a value system can only be either an item in the “thought-museum” of cultural artifacts or a
fantasy. It is perpetual preparedness to make cultural changes with a view to obtaining this balance
(Anthony Giddens, 2011). The concept 'value' is expressed in different life situations as significant in
 fulfilling our mental, emotional, spiritual or practical requirement. It may also simply be described as
that which we find good or meaningful. It is very common to comment on the value of things that
one prefers or likes and for which one may make conscious effort to acquire. But as human beings
we are particularly struck by the values which we discerned in human relationships or in men's
actions and behaviour. Therefore, 'value' is a concept which is widely applied in man's life. In view
of the variety and diversity of human life, the concept cannot be easily explained. Referring to this
phenomena, Paul Roubickez, explains: "In the sphere of values, contradictions are the rule".

It is believed that various global and national problems may be solved through the practical
application of human values in every society. In order to fulfil this, goal humanity is to be considered
as the highest value in the global human society. For, the test for humanity is to achieve unity
among the living and non-living creatures of the world with the preservation of historical, ethnic and
cultural differences as well as the distinctiveness of nation states and communities. Such human
unity can be driven home only by recognizing human values such as truth, kindness, benevolence,
peace, love, dignity, respect, forgiveness, etc. Of course, these values must be strictly determined
and must not be treated as mere obligations. Hence, the most important task for philosophy
students is to develop foundations and principles of a global human society and to formulate a
global consciousness and a humanistic worldview that adequately reflects the realities of our epoch.
Our action must increasingly be based on an acknowledgment of global and universally accepted
values. Because, it is the human values which are to be treated as the keys to solving the global
problems.

Human values are values which are fundamental to man's innate nature of being human.
These guide man in the right path, giving him a sense of peace and rightness. As such human
values are cherished and sought to be realized throughout the ages. From time immemorial, their
meanings are defined and redefined. In the early civilization, Plato explains human values as "the
things in the upper world you may take for the upward journey of the soul". Thus human values
enable man to realize the supreme value of human life which Plato further explained as the
"essential form of goodness". For Aristotle, human values through man's rational power, ensures
the attainment of happiness as "the supreme end of life".

Man's innate efforts to express human values in different modes of expression are a
testament to his sense of values. Thus, the painter expresses his values in painting, the musician in
music, the sculptor in rocks. As a medium of human expression, literature also expresses human
values. In the case of fiction, W. H. Hudson is of the opinion that "A general moral philosophy is,
therefore, almost always embodied as a more or less distinctly avowed part of their plan".
Therefore, he explains the author's chief objective: "As he deals with life, he must deal with moral
facts and issues everywhere involved in life; and it is upon his moral power and insight"... "that the
real greatness of his work very largely depends".

B. Meaning of Values
Values are generally regarded as the moral standards of human behaviors in the society. It
is a kind of quality of humans, which is applied to human activities. It is transmitted to a
circumstantial factor which depends upon the judgment of the fact. The word ‘value’ is derived from
the Latin word ‘valeo’ which originally meant strength and also health, and then by natural transition,
it came to mean being effective and adequate. In French the term ‘valeur’ means excellence. Value
is a mixture of three concepts such as Idea, Quality and Supervention. Values can be defined as the
principles that guide people's lives, and have varying significance. Values are the essence of our
personality, and affect us to make decisions, trust people, and arrange our time and energy in our
social life. Values may be treated as keys to solving many world problems.

It is to be pointed out that value is the worth of something. It is the importance or usefulness
of something, a standard of behaviour and it is considered to be important or beneficial in human
 life. Conventionally speaking, the term ‘value’, itself came to ethics by way of economics. In
economics it is used for (i) Value in use that is the capacity of an object to satisfy a human need or
desire, and (ii) Value in exchange or the amount of one commodity that came to be obtained in
exchange for another. Besides, values may be broadly categorized into two – (i) Intrinsic value and
(ii) Extrinsic value. Intrinsic values are those values which are associated with certain objects
appearing to have such value that they would retain it even if they were to exist completely alone,
whereas extrinsic values are those values where certain objects have value as parts of other
objects of value, or as means to ends of value. Values may be regarded as positive and negative.
Anything that has positive value is considered to be good, whereas anything that has negative value
is said to be evil.

One of the most general philosophical issues in the study of value (axiology) is whether
values arise from objective or subjective features of experience. Non-cognitivists defend a strict
distinction between fact and value and many contemporary thinkers challenge the presumption that
human knowledge can ever be genuinely free of value judgments (Anthony Giddens, 2011). To
acknowledge same feature of things as a value is to take it into account in decision making or in
other words, to be inclined to advance it as a consideration in influencing the choice and guiding
oneself and others. Those who see values as ‘subjective’ think of this in terms of a personal stance,
occupied as a kind of choice and immune to rational argument (although often and curiously,
deserving some kind of reverence and respect). Those who think of values as ‘objective’ suppose
that for same reason – requirements of rationality human nature, God or other authority – choice
can be guided and correct from same independent standpoint (Simon Blackburn, 1994).

C. Significance of Human Values

Human values have been a central concept in the social sciences since their inception.
Human values play a vital role in the society, for they are said to be the basis of human beings for
leading a better life. It is believed that all holy books of all religions contain the values of good life.
The importance of values is frequently cited in relation to the global and national problems, whether
it be in debates in international assemblies, in studies criticizing "value-free" approaches to
research, or in discussion of quality of life and individual fulfilment. Thus, values are deemed
especially important in questions of cultural development and are central to concern for the
preservation of cultural heritage.

It is to be mentioned that importance of human values is seen right from the childhood of a
person. Preschool is the first stage or period that lays the foundation of information on human
values. Because information about the values of life is a continuous process found in the society.
However, the first information not only gains in earlier periods that begin and end in the period to
adolescence but also continues personality. From now on, there can be changes on these values,
but basic values have been developed. Changing child’s wrong behaviour is more difficult than
trying to develop a new behaviour. It is critical to develop the child's personality in a planned and
systematic process in order to prevent the wrong development of values education.

There are different factors which affect human values in the life of an individual and the
society. Value education starts from families and it is continuous at schools with the help of
educators. Because of this, families, teachers and educational programs are crucial to values
education. Families are the first source of information so they should be careful about their
behaviours and attitudes as children see them as a model. Cooperation within families and teachers
is very important for the thing that affects the children most is what the teacher does in the
classroom. Besides this, education programs must be reorganized according to this cooperation.
Also in this period by the help of educational activities like seminars, conferences; families can take
an active part in organizing these programs. So that, there can be an effective harmony among
families, educators and educational programs. It may be mentioned that value is a theory about
“what things in the world are good, desirable, and important.” (S.C. Sinha, 1990).
 There are individual morality and social morality. Individual morality provides the basis of
decisions of and judgments by the individual: honesty, loyalty, good faith, being responsible. Social
morality means fairness, which is one basis of law, which helps to govern society and to control
individual behavior. Social morality considers whether an action threatens society’s well-being.

Philosophers have discerned these main forms of value - intrinsic, instrumental, inherent and
relational value. Intrinsic value may be taken as basic and many of the others defined in terms of it.
Among the many attempts to explicate the concept of intrinsic value, some deal primarily with the
source of value, while others employ the concept of the “fittings” or “appropriateness” to it of certain
kinds of emotions and desires. The first is favoured by G.E. Moore and the second by Brentano.
Proponents of the first view hold that the intrinsic value of X is the value that X has solely in virtue of
its intrinsic nature. Thus, the state of affairs of Smith’s experiencing pleasure has intrinsic value
provided it has value solely in virtue of its intrinsic nature. Followers of the second approach
explicate intrinsic value in terms of the sorts of emotions and desires appropriate to a thing “in and
for itself” (or “for its own sake”). Thus, one might say X has intrinsic value (or is intrinsically good) if
and only if X is worthy of desire in and for itself, or, alternatively, it is fitting or appropriate for anyone
to favour X in and for itself. Thus, the state of affairs of Smith’s experiencing pleasure is intrinsically
valuable provided that state of affairs is worthy of desire for its own sake, or it is fitting for anyone to
favour that state of affairs in and for itself (Robert Audi, 1995).

Thus, human values possess a significant position in the society. Values are a cognitive
structure that describes the ideals of life of individuals, their preferences, priorities, principles and
the behaviour of a cognitive. Values are the effective cultural elements which shape the elements
around the point of view of individuals, members of a community that holds together. In line with the
protection or disregarding of these values by individuals in a society, the values will be lost in time
or they will be continued many years by transferring. Continuing and being permanent of these
values depends on individuals’ general acceptance and internalizing. But, together with the values
that show differences in cultures, there is a case of values which are universal and ethical that are
accepted in all cultures. Truth, respect, kindness, benevolence, patience, tolerance, peace,
democracy, etc. are expected to be universal human values throughout globe. It is a universally
accepted view that without these human values human society will not sustain for a long time.

We, human beings receive information through our five senses, and it is the human values
that help us to discriminate from right and wrong, good and bad. We have access to information
readily however, transformation is slow without practice of human values, and this is where the
importance of human values plays a significant role in bringing solutions to the global problems
such as ecological problems, moral problems, global warming, etc. In this present global human
society we almost see only the demoralizing values. What the genuine cause of the degradation of
these values could be is an important question to be asked. According to philology, the word ethics
are derived from the Latin ‘Ethos’, which means character. It is a question of moral value. In this
way, ethics is the science of character, habits of activity or behaviour of human beings.

The word ‘moral’ is a derivative for the Latin word ‘mores’ meaning conventions or practice.
In this way ethics literally mean the science of convention or practice. Ethics is the science of
human conduct. Habits and behaviour are related to the permanent peculiarities of human
character. Conduct is the mirror of the character. Thus, ethics is the science of character or habit. It
evaluates human habits, character and voluntary determinations and discusses their propriety or
otherwise.

It is to be mentioned here that social and moral values are essential elements of the
collective lives of any community. Moral values are one basis on which we make decisions– right or
 wrong and good or evil. Every community develops and possesses some social and moral values of
its own. There cannot be any value or standard of a community without a social and cultural group.
A social group is a collection of people who share a common identity and regularly interact with one
another on the basis of some shared expectations concerning behaviour. People who belong to the
same social and cultural group identify with each other, expect each other to conform to certain
ways of thinking and acting and recognize the ethnic, cultural, social and moral boundaries that
separate them from other groups of people. “In our need to congregate and belong, we have
created a rich and varied group life that gives us our norms, practices, and values – our whole way
of life.” (Anthony Giddens, 2011). Thus, society may be regarded as the Basis of the social and
moral life of a human group.

Moreover, social values are certain qualities and beliefs that are shared within a specific
culture or group of people. These traits can be religious, economic, political, educational, historical
etc. Indeed, social and moral values are essential elements of the collective life of any community.
Social values are that which an individual considers to be of value in their social existence. These
are the standards by which one operates or is understood as an everyday function. It is a known
fact that man, a member of a society, is a rational animal. This simple truth provides a sort of
foundation for ethics, and much of the history of moral philosophy involves attempts to do justice to
both aspects of the human: rationality on the one hand, animal nature on the other (Roger
Teichmann, 2011). So, humans are animals first and rational being second. The area of philosophy
traditionally known as ‘ethics’ or ‘moral philosophy’ is the attempt to arrive at an understanding of
the nature of human values, of how we ought to live, and of what constitutes right conduct8 in the
society.

Values influence most, if not all motivated behavior. The value theory provides a framework
for relating the system of ten values to behavior that enriches analysis, prediction, and explanation
of value-behavior relations. It makes clear that behavior entails a trade-off between competing
values. Almost any behavior has positive implications for expressing, withholding, or attaining some
values, but negative implications for the values across the structural circle in opposing positions.
People tend to behave in ways that balance their opposing values. They choose alternatives that
promote higher as against lower priority values. As a result, the order of positive and negative
associations between any specific behavior and the ten values tends to follow the order of the value
circle. The value of a particular object depends on the necessity of it at a particular time and
situation. Thus, the value of the particular object depends on the quality to satisfy the needs of the
particular person.

D. Crisis of Human Values in the Present Age

A crisis is any event that is expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation
affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society. Crises are deemed to be negative
changes in the security, economic, political, societal, or environmental affairs, especially when they
occur abruptly, with little or no warning. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or an
'emergency event'.

Value crisis is one of the burning problems in our daily life. Dowry system, divorce, abortion,
animal sacrifice, superstitious beliefs, etc. are the burning problems in the present human society.
These are ever growing problem. In order to uproot these, we provide value orientation classes so
that, we may develop the optimum level of thinking. Women are actually facing existential crisis due
to insecurity because of gang-rape, molestation, etc. Some people violate social norms, morality
and ethics, penal code, constitutional and legal norms and people very often utilize freedom in the
ultimate sense, consequence upon which we are facing problem in the society. Everybody is going
to fulfil his or her need by utilizing ultimate freedom. He or she forgets the responsibility to society
and tries to enjoy freedom in the ultimate sense. This is really a serious value crisis being faced by
the present society.
 Therefore, every person should be aware of removing the social problems which are deep-
rooted in the human society. The values like truthfulness, kindness, honesty, law, justice, patriotism,
humanism, etc. are to be preserved in society in order to regulate human life in a well-ordered
manner. Value-crisis has emerged due to not understanding its proper role in our human society. To
some thinkers, epistemological crisis and identity crisis are the two main crises of value which
create the major problems like suicide, murder, robbery, extortion, rape, insurgency, or extremist
problem and caste and class conflict, etc. The problem of value deterioration in our society can be
stored out, if we are socially conscious about the deep-rooted values in our society. This awareness
is possible only when we will flourish our philosophizing or spiritualizing force to assess the value in
our life.

Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas:
metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Metaethics investigates where our ethical
principles come from, and what they mean. Are they merely social inventions? Do they involve more
than expressions of our individual emotions? Metaethical answers to these questions focus on the
issues of universal truths, the will of God, the role of reason in ethical judgments, and the meaning
of ethical terms themselves. Normative ethics take on a more practical task, which is to arrive at
moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. This may involve articulating the good habits
that we should acquire, the duties that we should follow, or the consequences of our behaviour on
others. Finally, applied ethics involves examining specific controversial issues, such as abortion,
infanticide, animal rights, environmental concerns, homosexuality, capital punishment, or nuclear
war. The case of human values contrasts sharply with that of world problems. Where it is common
and meaningful to ask "do you have a problem", it is unusual and generally unacceptable to ask "do
you have a value". The term is not common across languages and is not an early part of any
vocabulary. It is far from being an immediate concern in any normal programme of action. And yet
there is an intimate relationship between problems and values.

Basically, no problem is recognizable except in the light of a value. For example, if "justice"
is not a recognized "value", then "injustice" cannot be recognized as a problem.

It is stated that human values come to the fore as the driving force in many campaigns,
where people's commitment is engaged through appeals to "freedom", "equality" and the like. As
such, they too can unite opposing groups under the same banner but with much less ability to focus
on the concrete remedial action required. Much cultural endeavour is associated with articulating
the interplay of values.

Problems tend to be explicit, whereas values tend to be implicit. But both are artifacts of the
human mind. Despite being treated as concrete, problems as such (like values) cannot be
photographed. People interpret certain (photographable) conditions as problematic. But the future
will recognize other problems in photographs of conditions today, which may now appear problem-
free. It may be argued that awareness of a problem-value polarity is borne of exposure to certain
conditions that cause some form of suffering. In different ways this suffering engenders learning
through which sensitivity to a (new) value allows the suffered conditions to be constellated into a
problem. In summary, whilst problems tend to be concrete, relatively unambiguous, detailed
features of normal organized activity, values are much more ambiguously defined and less easily
related to specific programmatic steps. Problems, provide focus through their concreteness and
specificity in dealing with the present through established channels. Values provide focus through
their inspirational value and their prescriptive potential in creating a more desirable future
irrespective of established views.
 Apart from natural crises that are inherently unpredictable most of the crises that we face are
created by man. Hence the requirements of their being ‘unexpected’ depend upon man failing to
note the onset of crisis conditions. Some of our inability to recognise crises before they become
dangerous is due to denial and other psychological responses that provide succor and protection for
our emotions.

A different set of reasons for failing to notice the onset of crises is that we allow ourselves to
be 'tricked' into believing that we are doing something for reasons that are false.

In other words, we are doing the wrong things for the right reasons. For example, we might
believe that we are solving the threats of climate change by engaging in an economic trading
activity that has no real impact on the climate. The effect of our inability to attend to the likely results
of our actions can result in crisis.

An environmental disaster is a disaster that is due to human activity and should not be
confused with natural disasters. In this case, the impact of humans' alteration of the ecosystem has
led to widespread and/or long-lasting consequences. It can include the deaths of animals (including
humans) and plant systems, or severe disruption of human life, possibly requiring migration.

A natural disaster is the consequence of a natural hazard (e.g. volcanic eruption,

earthquake, landslide) which moves from potential into an active phase, and as a result affects
human activities. Human vulnerability, exacerbated by the lack of planning or lack of appropriate
emergency management, leads to financial, structural, and human losses.

Modern human society seems to be valued on the basis of material thing and its position.
For instance, these days, a person who possesses wealth is respected and revered whereas a
person without money is not honoured by anybody. The poor people, whoever they may be, have to
woo the rich people just for the sake of earning their livelihood. Hence, human values have become
neglected and meaningless, for human beings have become the means for the rich to earn money.
People are so busy with earning material things that they have no time and no desire to think about
the plight of humanity. For the self-centred there is no place for feelings of mercy, sympathy or
kindness, etc. Nowadays, those who occupy high posts are respected. Thus, dignity seemed to be
attached to a post or rank.

Today, educated people are so proud of their degrees that some of them detest illiterate
people and avoid the company of commoners. Thus, they shun village life and live in towns or cities.
Village people are deprived of all life’s amenities. They are the candlestick of civilization: they stand
erect with the candle resting on their head. Everyone gets light from it, while they suffer the
discomfort of the wax trickling down their sides. In this way, the dishonest of humanity or the neglect
of human values has become a social malady in the present era.

Another glaring example of the disrepect or neglect of human values is the present judicial system.
When arrested, people have to stand in the dock for the accused and face a trial based on evidence
and the lawyer’s eloquence, no matter if they are guilty or not. A criminal who can afford to hire a
reputable lawyer may emerge from the legal processes unscathed, whereas an innocent person of
meagre financial means who is unable to appoint a good counsel or lawyer may end up in prison. If
a thief is set free it is a crime, no doubt; but if an innocent person is punished. it is a severe
dishonour to humanity.

One of the primary causes of crime today is the lack of virtuous people. Those who are
honest trying to follow moral principles in their private lives, but at times have to abandon morals
under the pressure of poverty. Eventually they may find themselves in the dock of the accused,
 charged with committing theft. The law is not concerned with the poverty which forced them to steal,
nor, indeed, does the law make provisions for the maintenance of their families if they are given a
prison sentence. As a consequence, their children will have to become pickpockets and petty
thieves and their unfortunate wives have to embrace an ignoble and sinful life in the underworld,
because they have to survive.

It is a tradition to give preference to social value over human value. The spiritual
revolutionaries want to strike at the root of this custom. For them, human value takes precedence
over social value. Human beings form the society, and hence human value must lay the foundation
for the social value. In other words, those who show respect to human value will be entitled to social
value. Indeed, human value means nothing but to treat the joys and sorrows, hopes and aspirations
of human beings sympathetically, and see them merged in Cosmic Consciousness and established
in divine majesty.

The value of human life surpasses all other values, so states and scriptures, societies and
religions acquire significance only insofar as they develop humanity to the maximum through
learning, culture, physical health and economic plenty. It is for the sake of developing humanity that
civilization has so many institutions of different kinds, that states take their various forms, that
theories proliferate, and that the scriptures abound in ordinances and regulations.

V. Review of Related Literature

It is felt important to have a clear understanding of the concept 'human values'. A preliminary
consultation of literary and philosophy books do not yield satisfactory definitions since general
discussions are under the term 'value'. This is explained by the extremely complex nature of value.
Barbara Hemstein Smith lucidly explains as follows:

“The term value seems to name an aspect of the world so fundamental to our thinking - so
elementary and at the same time so general - as to be both irreducible and irreplaceable; it defies
attempts to analyze into simpler concepts and efforts to explain.”

This in itself makes it difficult to arrive at a simple definition of human values. Therefore, a
preliminary consideration of the general term value may project useful points in the understanding of
human values. In this connection, the Oxford Encyclopedic Dictionary explains the term 'value' as:

“A worth, desirability, quality on which these depend”.

The above definition emphasizes 'value' as a desirable quality in things, men and action.
This is normally understood. But Paul Roubiczek explains value in the context of valuation:

“A value expresses the significance of things - great or small - which man ascribes to
matters related to a particular activity or experience or to his life in general and thus provides him
with guidance for his behaviour. "

In the above explanation, the word 'ascribes' projects man's act of valuation for value to
exist. But this is easier said than done. In the literary context, Bulwer-Lytton brought out this
problem when he commented, "We do not observe any frivolity in Walter Scott, when he describes
with elaborate care the set of ruffle...of Sir Walter Raleigh." But this rule does not apply all the time
for "we do not require the same minuteness in describing the smock frock of a labourer."

A literary critic, E. Olson attempts to throw more light on the abstract sense of human values
which he refers to as the objective and subjective aspects. He insightfully illustrates their
implications as follows:
 “We do not see painting, we see the coloured paint; we do not hear the music, we hear the
sound; we come to the perceptions of the painting or music through the operation of faculties other
than sense.”

The objective presents the permanent nature of value which is explained as that which
"resides in the object itself. In the context of human values, it directs attention to the unchanging
and intrinsic nature of human qualities of kindness, love, sympathy and truthfulness. The subjective
according to Olson is an inner perception and evaluation involving emotions and thoughts of man.
Thus, as explained by Olson, "the objective arises immediately from the properties" while in the
subjective "values are contingent upon what we are evaluating". However, in practical life, man's
judgmental power ascribes value. Therefore, after explaining values to refer to "interests, pleasures,
likes, preferences,..." the International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences further explains:

“Values, in other words, are found in the large and diverse universe of selective behaviour.”

VI. Political Caricature

This cartoon shows how some people in the government use their ability to persuade or manipulate
the people into thinking about their needs and choices in life while conveying the impression of
wanting to help them when it truth, they are actually doing this out of selfishness and greed. They
are faking compassion and are only after their personal gain and advantage. Hence, poverty rises
while wealthy becomes richer.

VII. Conclusion
 Human value is a theory about “what things in the world are good, desirable, and important.”
Modern society has been undergoing significant crises for last few decades. Indeed, human
values are now withering very fast for which we humans are most responsible. The age-old
simplicity and close ties between family and clan and village co-operation are withering fast.
The growth of different modern political parties among the people and the total involvement
of the masses in party politics is a contributory factor to such development.
  The modern people now think that their traditional socio-moral value is being threatened by
the process of modernity. Therefore, their traditional social and moral system and identity
are needed to be preserved by striking a balance between the traditional social and moral
standards and the modern values. Value based education should be emphasized ranging
from school to university level of education. They tend to reject everything traditional, their
culture, their religion, their God, their morality, their values, their education, politics, etc.,
sometimes they regard their culture as inferior to the alternative models.

 Human values play a very leading role in society. Human values take precedence over
social values. Human value is the conception of mankind in general. It is true that the
individual is the chief concern, but as long as individuals exist in society, it may be firmly said
that the modern society will never outgrow its existence. Today with the technological
advancement, communication has tremendously improved, therefore anything that we say,
do or even think will have a direct bearing upon a larger group of people. Today,
newspapers inform us of so many crimes: robbery, murder, genocide, injustice, and political
and economic corruption. These do not pass by the millions of avid readers without creating
at least some sort of influence upon their lives. Films and audio-visuals have been the
greatest influence. Thus, one can finally arrive at a conclusion that the moral behaviour of an
individual or a group of individuals affects the society at large. Consequently, human values
play a vital role both for the integrity and longevity of any human society (L.B. Mawrie, 2005).

 Human value is generally known to be a moral standard of human behaviour. Social and
moral values are essential elements of the collective lives of any community without which
the present modern human society may not be able to continue to sustain. Therefore, human
values should be preserved and protected. Looking at today’s human society, one can see
that it is deeply engrossed in materialism. Human values are beginning to lose their
importance. The craze of materialism has been quite detrimental to the traditional social and
moral system. The spirit of personal freedom has brought about the degradation in the moral
life of the human community. Loss of moral integrity has always been responsible for the
destruction of civilization in the past. There should be a general awareness being created by
socio-cultural groups concerning the value of traditional customs and heritage. Today, many
researches and publications should be done on several aspects of the society which help to
perpetuate the human values of the human community in the post-modern era. Human
values may be treated as keys to the solution of the global problems.

VIII. Recommendation
 A more in-depth study on human values should be integrated in schools.
 Human values must be explained subjectively, not just objectively, in order to provide a
deeper understanding to students.
 The knowledge of human values must be utilized in everyday life, and must be taken into
consideration in decision-making.
 The importance of human values must be given more importance, instead of materialism.
 There should be a general awareness being created by socio-cultural groups concerning the
value of traditional customs and heritage.
IX. Bibliography
Giddens, Anthony, Introduction to Sociology, Seagull Publications, London, 2011, p. 12.
Giddens, Anthony, Introduction to Sociology, Seagull Publications, London, 2011, p. 12.
Blackburn, Simon, Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Oxford, 1996, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
1994, p. 390.
Hemstein, Barbara, The Theory of Human Nature, Sage Publications Inc., Pittsburgh, 2006, p. 43.
Sinha, S.C., Anmols Dictionary of Philosophy, Anmols Publications, New Delhi, 1990, p. 196.
 Audi, Robert, The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
1995, pp. 948.
Giddens, Anthony, Introduction to Sociology, Seagull Publications, London, 2011, p. 11.
Teichmann, Roger, Nature, Reason and the Good Life – Ethics for Human Beings, Oxford
University Press, Oxford, 2011, P.ix.
Norman, R., The Moral Philosophers – An introduction to Ethics, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
1998, p. 1.
Tripathy, Preeti, An Introduction to Moral Philosophy, Axis Publications, New Delhi, 2011, p. 1.
Sinha, S.C., Anmols Dictionary of Philosophy, Anmols Publications, New Delhi, 1990, p. 196.
The great Roman Empire collapsed because its citizens gave themselves to luxurious and immoral
living. Thus, they became effeminate and when the Barbarians invaded the city, the Romans were
no longer able to defend themselves. This is an example of how deterioration in social and ethical
life can lead to self-destruction. Quoted by L.B. Mawrie in his Introduction to Khasi Ethics, DBCIC
Publications, Shillong, 2005, p.11

X. Evaluation

Final Grade

Submitted by:
Maneja, Marinela Jade M.
MPA 504

Submitted to:
Dr. Leon R. Ramos Jr.
Professor