Chapter 14

[Joelyn]

The Philosophical and Value Ramifications

CHAPTER 14, A modern approach to the valuing process

“The work of the teacher and educator, like that of the therapist, is inextricably involved in the problem of values. The school has always been seen as one of the means by which the culture transmits its values from one generation to the next. But now this process is in upheaval, with many of our young people declaring themselves ‘dropouts’ from the confused and hypocritical value system that they see operating in the world [1964:]. How are educators — how are citizens — to orient themselves in relation to this complex and perplexing issue?” (p. 277)

Some definitions of values

“[Charles Morris:] points out that value is a term we employ in different ways. We use it to refer to the tendency of living beings to show preference, by their actions, for one kind of object or objective rather than another. Morris called this preferential behavior operative values.” (p. 279)

“A second distinction might be called conceived values. This is the preference of the individual for a symbolized object. . . . A preference for ‘honesty is the best policy’ is such a conceived value.” (p. 279)

“A final distinction might be called objective values. People use the word in this way when they wish to speak of what is objectively preferable — whether or not is is, in fact, sensed or conceived of as desirable. . . . I am, instead more concerned with operative values and conceived values.” (p. 279)

Some introjected patterns

“Introject is a psychological term that best describes the internalization of another’s characteristics without a conscious effort. . . . Let me list a few commonly held introjections:” (p. 282)

1. sexual desires and behaviors are mostly bad
2. disobedience is bad
3. making money is the highest good
4. learning an accumulation of scholarly facts is highly desirable
5. browsing and aimlessly exploratory reading for fun is undesirable
6. style and fashion are important
7. dictatorships are utterly bad, except when they support our goals
8. to love thy neighbor is the highest good
9. competition is preferable to teamwork and cooperation
10. cheating is clever and desirable
11. Coca-Cola, MTV, chewing gum, video games, American jeans, and automobiles are utterly desirable

Common characteristics of Adult Valuing

1. most of our values are introjected from other individuals or groups significant to us
2. the source or locus of evaluation lies outside the self
3. criterion by which values are set is the degree to which they cause us to be loved or accepted
4. conceived preferences are either not related at all, or not clearly related, to our own process of experiencing
5. wide and unrecognized discrepancy between the evidence supplied by our own experience and these conceived values
6. because these conceptions are not open to the test of experience, we must hold them in a rigid and unchanging fashion; otherwise, our value system would collapse
7. because they are untestable, there is no ready way of solving contradictions
8. because we have relinquished the locus of evaluation to others and have lost touch with our own valuing process, we feel profoundly insecure and easily threatened in our values

The Fundamental Discrepancy

“The fundamental discrepancy between our individual concepts and what we are actually experiencing, between the intellectual structure of our values and the valuing process going unrecognized within this, is a part of the fundamental estrangement of the modern person from his or herself. This is a major problem for those in the helping professions: teachers, social workers, and therapists.” (p. 284)

BIG IDEA

* restoring contact with experience (for both the teacher and the learner)