Words that think for us (II)
Words that think for us - Edward Skidelsky
The word ‘values’ is nowadays in widespread use after being adopted by philosophers for ‘moral, aesthetic or practical evaluation’ in the late 19th century. The word originally referred to the process of pricing or estimating the worth of an object and has, wrongly argues the author, largely replaced the use of ‘virtues’. This has significant effects: whereas the latter are inherent, values are ‘rooted in the act of valuing’ and consequently mask the value relativism and subjectivism of an argument as ‘anything can become a value…by being valued’.
© Prospect Magazine (London)