the given society and culture. When some groups in society complain that education does not include values, they may only mean that the system does not seem to promote the values they hold dear. The argument over whether or not the public schools should include prayer is such an instance as religious groups believe that their values are being ignored. Yet, clearly this is also an instance in which religious values are in conflict with the values of a free and democratic society.
Paul Grice examines the term in depth, specifically in terms of developing a metaphysical conception of value. He begins the analysis with a story about an event in his childhood which apparently has come to define values for him because of what his mother told him. She said of his misunderstanding of the concept of value that he would learn as he grew older. Grice says that he has indeed learned in the end (Grice 70), but at the same time it should be noted that this is precisely why it is so necessary to define "value" clearly and to have a strong metaphysical understanding of the concept and its application--we have all been left to develop the concept on our own as we grow older, and we need a stronger base from which to examine the issue and to which to refer in applying it.
Adams links values with the best of our Western culture and finds that there is much in our lives that is good and right, yet at the same time we find ourselves with deep problems and unable to decide on a proper course of action. In part this is because we have developed our system to gratify certain desires for wealth and power while we have eliminated values from our scientific conceptual system. Value derives from culture and the culture we have created has sublimated our value system in pursuit of a different goal.
Adams defines culture broadly to include all the ways and products of human work, expression, and creativity. He differentiates within this broad f...