VALUES FORMATION AND

YOU

“Education in values means the cultivation of effectivity, leading the educand through exposure to an experience of value and of the valuable.”— R. Aquino

TO BE MORAL IS TO BE HUMAN. LIVING BY THE RIGHT VALUES HUMANIZES.

IS THERE SUCH THING AS RIGHT, UNCHANGING AND UNIVERSAL VALUE?

IDEALIST POINT OF VIEW

THERE ARE UNCHANGING AND UNIVERSAL VALUES

TRANSCENDENT VALUES— BEYOND CHANGING TIMES, BEYOND SPACE AND PEOPLE

THEY REMAIN VALUE EVEN IF NO ONE VALUES THEM.

RELATIVIST POINT OF VIEW

THERE ARE NO UNIVERSAL AND UNCHANGING VALUES.

VALUES ARE DEPENDENT ON TIME AND PLACE.

VALUES ARE TAUGHT AND CAUGHT

THE LIVING EXAMPLES OF GOOD MEN AND WOMEN AT HOME, SCHOOL AND SOCIETY HAVE FAR GREATER INFLUENCE ON OUR VALUE FORMATION THAN THOSE WELL-PREPARED LECTURES ON VALUES EXCELLENTLY DELIVERED BY EXPERTS WHO MAY SOUND LIKE “EMPTY GONGS AND CLANGING CYMBALS”

VALUES HAVE COGNITIVE,

AFFECTIVE, AND

BEHAVIOURAL DIMENSION

WE MUST UNDERSTAND THE VALUE THAT WE WANT TO ACQUIRE.

WE NEED TO KNOW WHY WE HAVE TO VALUE SUCH.

WE NEED TO KNOW HOW TO LIVE BY THAT VALUE.

VALUES ARE IN THE AFFECTIVE DOMAIN OF OBJECTIVES

“IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT HONESTY IS OR WHY

ONE SHOULD BE HONEST. ONE HAS TO FEEL

SOMETHING TOWARDS HONESTY, AS PREFERABLE TO

DISHONESTY.”-AQUINO (1990)

VALUES HAVE A BEHAVIOURAL DIMENSION.

LIVING BY THE VALUES IS THE TRUE ACID TEST IF WE REALLY VALUE A VALUE.

VALUE FORMATION INCLUDES FORMATION IN THE COGNITIVE,

AFFECTIVE AND

BEHAVIOURAL ASPECT

VALUES ARE CAUGHT. HELP YOURSELF BY READING THE BIOGRAPHIES OF HEROES, GREAT TEACHERS AND SAINTS, AND OTHER INSPIRATIONAL BOOKS.

EXAMPLE: DESIDERATA “AVOID LOUD AND AGGRESSIVE PERSONS; THEY ARE VEXATIONS TO THE SPIRIT.”

VALUE FORMATION IS A TRAINING OF THE INTELLECT AND WILL

INTELLECT— DISCERNS A VALUE AND PRESENT IT TO THE WILL AS A RIGHT OR WRONG VALUE.

WILLS TO ACT ON THE RIGHT VALUE AND WILLS

TO AVOID THE WRONG VALUE PRESENTED BY THE

INTELLECT—WILL

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS:

“THE INTELLECT PROPOSES

AND THE WILL DISPOSES.”

“NOTHING IS WILLED UNLESS IT IS FIRST KNOWN.”

DEVELOP YOUR INTELLECT IN ITS THREE FUNCTIONS: FORMATION OF IDEAS, JUDGMENT

AND REASONING.

HOW CAN YOUR WILL BE TRAINED TO DESIRE STRONGLY THE DESIRABLE AND ACT ON IT?

WILLIAM KELLY:“TRAINING OF THE WILL MUST BE ESSENTIALLY SELF-TRAINING.”

“THE HABIT OF

YIELDING TO IMPULSE RESULTS IN

THE ENFEEBLEMENT

OF SELF-CONTROL.”

“HABITUAL YIELDING TO ANY

VICE, WHILE IT DOES NOT LESSEN MAN’S RESPONSIBILITY, DOES

DIMINISH HIS ABILITY TO

RESIST TEMPTATION.”

“LIKEWISE, THE MORE FREQUENTLY MAN RESTRAINS IMPULSE… PERSISTS AGAINST TEMPTATION… THE MORE DOES HE INCREASE HIS SELF-CONTROL.

, AND THEREFORE,

HIS FREEDOM.”

“TO HAVE A STRONG WILL MEANS TO HAVE

CONTROL OF THE WILL, TO BE ABLE TO DIRECT IT DESPITE ALL CONTRARY IMPULSES.”

VIRTUOUS VERSUS VICIOUS LIFE

AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE WILL

MAX SCHELER’S HIERARCHY OF VALUES

PLEASUREVALUES– PLEASANT VS.

UNPLEASANT– AGREEABLE VS. DISAGREEABLE

• SENSUAL FEELINGS

• EXPERIENCES OF PLEASURE AND PAIN

VITALVALUES

– VALUES PERTAINING TO THE WELL BEING EITHER OF THE INDIVIDUAL OR OF THE COMMUNITY– VALUES OF VITAL FEELING

• HEALTH

• VITALITY

• CAPABILITY

• EXCELLENCE

SPIRITUALVALUES

– VALUES INDEPENDENT OF THE WHOLE SPHERE OF THE BODY AND OF THE ENVIRONMENT;– GRASPED IN THE SPIRITUAL ACT OF PREFERRING, LOVING AND HATING

• AESTHETIC VALUES

• RIGHT/WRONG

• VALUES OF PURE KNOWLEDGE

VALUES OF THE HOLY – APPEAR ONLY IN

REGARD TO OBJECTS INTENTIONALLY GIVEN AS “ABSOLUTE OBJECTS”

• BELIEF• ADORA

TION• BLISS

VALUES CLARIFICATION

THE TERM VALUE IS RESERVED FOR THOSE INDIVIDUAL BELIEFS, ATTITUDES, AND ACTIVITIES THAT SATISFY THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

1.FREELY CHOSEN

2. CHOSEN FROM AMONG ALTERNATIVES

3. CHOSEN FROM DUE REFLECTION

4. PRIZED AND CHERISHED

5. PUBLICLY AFFIRMED

6. INCORPORATED INTO ACTUAL BEHAVIOR

7. ACTED UPON REPEATEDLY IN ONE’S LIFE