Let us begin with common questions and answers about Axiology.
1. Q: What is axiology?
A: Short answer: It is the name for “value theory.”
2. Q: What is the domain of axiology that sets it apart from other subject matters?
A.a: The world is full of facts, and some of these given facts are already values (it is a fact that “x” is a widely held value). Axiology is the ordering system of how we make these facts meaningful. The actual values we deal with are all factually finite, but often one or more of the dimensions can be emphasized (valued) as infinite, as in a love relationship, although it is factually finite, eventually coming to an end in time. This illustrates the difference between value and fact. I can value my beloved infinitely, but factually, not. Fact is the foundation of value. Without a real, tangible, factual world, there would be no value.
A.b: The domain of axiology was historically one of the five main branches of philosophy. The five branches are listed below with the subjects they address.
1. ontology (what is),
2. metaphysics (what is the ultimate reality),
3. Logic (the structure of order)
4. epistemology (how do we know), and
5. axiology (what is good) – axiology is important since it includes ethics (how to best treat others) and also aesthetics (what is beauty).
3. Q: What is the main focus of axiology?
A: Axiology is a discipline that focuses on meaning – on significance. Value = meaning in axiology. Identifying meaning requires judgment of what is - versus what ought to be or could be.
4. Q: What is the difference between general axiology and “formal” axiology?
A: “Formal” axiology is the logic framework that takes the subject out of philosophy and into science. All genuine sciences have a formalism (symbolic means of calculation) of some kind. For axiology to emerge out of philosophy and into the realm of science, it had to develop a formal structure for its knowledge claims. In the pre-scientific stage, axiology had epistemological (knowledge) claims, but only anecdotal or statistical evidence to justify these claims. A formal structure allows for verification of knowledge claims – from the “term” concepts alone, without empirical evidence. The formalism actually illuminates the empirical evidence and provides system and order to it. The formalism for axiology was developed by Robert S. Hartman in his main work, The Structure of Value.
5. Q: What are the three basic forms of value (meaning) in axiology?
A: It all unfolds from an axiom of value is based on concept fulfillment. Robert S. Hartman’s axiom of value is: a thing has value to the degree it fulfills its concept. There are three basic kinds of concepts. The kinds of concepts are synthetic, analytic, and singular. In formal axiology, the three kinds of concepts (when fulfilled) correspond to three value dimensions: systemic, extrinsic, and intrinsic.
6. Q: Do concepts have to be fulfilled by objects to obtain value?
A: Yes, axiology measures fulfillment. The fulfillment of a synthetic concept is systemic value. The fulfillment of an analytic concept is extrinsic value. The fulfillment of a singular concept is intrinsic value.
7. Q: What is the Hartman Value Profile & other axiological profiles such as the Pro-Sports Profile™?
A: In the axiological assessments, we get a schematic of how a person judges world values and how they judge the value of their own selves. The HVP & HVP parallel forms for special interest groups are 36 item forced ranking value judgment assessments – 18 items representing key values in the contextual world and 18 items representing key values of self-appreciation. The best scores indicate fulfillment and poor or weak scores indicate the lack of fulfillment.
8. Q: How do the assessments measure fulfillment?
A: The HVP and its parallel forms such as the Pro-Sports Profile™ provide a scientific determination of what a person’s judgment habits are like now. In the HVP program the essence of the assessment is captured in the “Values Scan” page depicting six basic dimensions.
the systemic dimension (S) is characterized as a “structural” or “system & order judgment.” When applied to self appreciation, it is termed “self-identity.”
The extrinsic dimension (E) is characterized as “external” or “economic and social understanding.” When applied to self-appreciation, this is characterized as personal “role engagement” or involvement. The intrinsic dimension (I) is characterized as “inter-personal,” or “understanding others.” When applied to self-appreciation, it is termed “intra-subjective” or “intuitive sense of self-worth.” These six categories (among many other combinations) can be used to measure employability when mapped into the specifications of a given job.
9. Q: How does the Profile information help a person improve?
A: The three dimensions live together in our common life world. People relate to the three dimensions in terms of emphasis which can ebb and flow throughout the day. The system of axiology then provides the tools for determining what ought to be and the direction to take to get closer to the best or the ideal state of affairs through changing the person’s focus or changing what they emphasize. There is a hierarchy of richness among the dimensions that we can follow for self-development and self-improvement. The systemic dimension is finite and always precedes the others. The systemic provides the foundation: it is the constructed definition or language label for anything and everything. The extrinsic dimension compares the object to its class or to other objects. The Extrinsic is a countable infinite structure like the natural numbers, open-ended on one end and follows the systemic in its status as the next richest successor. The intrinsic dimension fits a unique object and it holistic in its range. The intrinsic dimension is open-ended at both ends and has the richest potential for growth and development including the spiritual. The intrinsic is the final step toward complete fulfillment for persons.
10. Q: What is the logical relationship among the three axiological dimensions?
A: Intrinsic value contains the other two dimensions as subsets. Extrinsic value is a subset of intrinsic value, and systemic value is a subset of extrinsic value. This may be clearer in an analogy to buckets. The intrinsic bucket contains all smaller buckets because intrinsic value is equivalent to the continuum. The continuum of existence contains everything. The buckets that segment the continuum are very large.
The intrinsic is the largest container, the extrinsic is the next largest including material objects that define a certain space, and the systemic is the smallest such as words that are created by humans to order and systematize the world. The logical relationship of size is: I > E > S. This is from the systemic or definitional point of view.
However, from the point of view of the intrinsic eternal, everything can be understood as equal, and the logical relationship among the dimensional segments changes to I = E = S.
From the extrinsic point of view, emphasizing class membership, we introduce the concept of subsets, indicated by the symbol “Î.” Then, the qualitative dimensions have the logical relationship, S Î E Î I.
11. Q: If axiology is a science, can you give me an example of an axiological law?
A: An axiological law to write down and repeat often: Anything that is not good ought to be good; anything that is good ought to be better.