Existence Is Overrated. What Is a Value?

This chapter explores the origin and proliferation of values in philosophical discourse. Beginning with the question of why society emphasizes values and their role, the chapter delves into the proposition that values promise quantifiability, variety, and world-structuring power. The narrative traces the historical evolution of values, questioning the notion that philosophy remained detached from values until the nineteenth century. Instead, values discourse originated within economics, intertwining economic and moral perspectives. The chapter scrutinizes how philosophers appropriated and transformed the concept of values, liberating them from economic confines to encompass diverse aspects of human existence. This philosophical transformation allowed for the moralization and globalization of values discourse. The chapter concludes by highlighting the complexity of values’ influence, negating the notion of a single dominant value and suggesting a moralistic colonization of human lifeworld through values.