Values are something we talk a good deal about as a general concept, but we do not examine the issue as closely as we might and do not examine the term itself for its meaning, its implications, and its worth. E.M. Adams links the issue of values with culture and with both our assessment of our own and other cultures and with the real value of those cultures. Different philosophical approaches to the issue may find varied aspects of the issue of value and may identify different values as more important and more potent than others, and indeed some may see value as having meaning while others find that it has no meaning. The first need is to define "values," and Allport offers a good working definition by holding that a value is a belief upon which an individual acts by preference. This makes the clarification of values a cognitive act leading to specific and related behavior. Behavior is determined for the individual by what he or she values. Decision-making is governed by values. This is an ongoing process whereby individuals are continually evaluating alternatives and making decisions based on the values they hold and the degree to which the various alternatives open to them fulfill and serve those values. All societies place a high value on the inculcation of values in the young, perpetuating certain cultural norms and thus values from generation to generation. For some, this is the pure definition of education, though it does ignore other basic needs such as cognitive development on a broader scale.
Clearly, values may differ from one society to another, from one culture to another, even from one region within a society to another. Every society has a set of core values which it tries to impart through the educational process--in our own society, the values of a democratic government would qualify. Other values may derive from common practice, from religious beliefs, or from a basic world-view that is prevalent in...