Most of all about the person speak his values. And what are values, how do they differ from the meaning of life, goals, which of them are the most noble, which modern, correspond to time? A whole science, very young, which is part of philosophy, is devoted to all these questions relating to human values . Axiology (as it was called in Greek, "axio" means "value") began to emerge back in the Middle Ages, since humanity from time immemorial worried about its place in this world, among other creatures and nature.
Axiology in philosophy was first expressed in the search for the meaning of being, the good for man, achieved through his values. Later, the goal of philosophical searches was the desire to accept (or at least isolate) the values common to all mankind (or people). This attempt, of course, crashed. But in the debates of philosophers, truth was born. And now everyone knows that there cannot be common values for all. Each of them has their own and depend on what is subjectively of great value to a person in his life.
And yet, in the entire history of mankind, in each of the centuries, we have been united by basic, leading, so to speak, relevant values. In the Middle Ages, the highest value was faith in God, and the purpose of life was to pay tribute to the Lord. Until the 20th century, all philosophical research was reduced to an explanation of the human mind and the search for good, that is, value.
Thus, axiology in philosophy “began to consider” the concept of value only in the 20th century, and with it tried to explain the process of perception of the world by an individual and humanity as a whole and how this perception corresponds to the spiritual, religious and aesthetic standards of a given time . Thus, axiology in philosophy “began to separate” the basic concepts of philosophy from the concept of values, consider them in more detail, and study them with scientific methods that most accurately reflect reality. Only now the knowledge of axiology made it possible to understand the nature of human values and formulate a concept.
Values are a person’s understanding of certain phenomena, the most important for him, the most significant in his life. That which can cause a storm of emotions, but does not leave indifferent. That on which almost the outcome of life depends. This understanding of phenomena is based on certain ideas of man about the world, about the essence of things. Therefore, for each, the most valuable are completely different things. If in your idea of your place in the world the opinion is rooted that you will live a life in vain, if you do not bring a child into the world, then your value is children, your future children. If your parents have deeply embedded in you (intentionally or intentionally) such an understanding of reality: "the world around you is hostile, only a family can stand up for you, only close people will not betray." Then your highest value will be family ties. Money can also be a value, if the truth for a person lies in the statement: money is the highest good, everything can be bought for it. The value may also be spiritual elevation over the everyday world. And so on, so on, so on.
Axiological philosophers also draw our attention to an understanding of the ideal, which is closely connected with ideas about the world and with value itself. Returning to our examples: if a successful family is an ideal life for a woman, she will strive to create it (the concept of purpose comes into play); if a man has an image of a successful, materially prosperous and single man, he will strive to become such by all means and, most likely, will. So axiology in philosophy “unites” philosophical units of measurement.
Today axiology, as a doctrine of values, is developing actively, new sections of this young science are appearing. A section such as pedagogical axiology could not fail to appear, since for each nation it is important how to educate the younger generation, what qualities and values to instill in it. After all, it depends on him in which society we will live, our children, our grandchildren will live. Each nation solves this problem in its own way. It is in values that our differences are visible, precisely because of differences in values, people from different countries and continents do not understand each other. But small differences are normal, if only we generally agree that, for example, war is not the best way to achieve our goals, that building and helping each other will bring more benefits to all countries ...