This project addresses the problem of the nature and structure of value—the good, the bad and the better. We will show that significant progress in axiology can be made by taking realism about value magnitudes seriously.
We develop a theory of value magnitudes by analogy with physical magnitudes. This research lies at the intersection of practical and theoretical philosophy. Traditionally metaphysics countenances particulars (like billiard balls) and universals (properties and relations, like being in motion and being heavier than). Less attention has been devoted to magnitudes (like the mass of the ball and the force of the impact), even though magnitude talk is ubiquitous. Much work has explored the relation of physical magnitudes to physical measurement, physical properties and relations, and laws of nature. Our discourse is also laden with value magnitudes: the value of is as common an operator as the mass of and the momentum of. (e.g. the value of a whole is not identical to the same the sum of the values of its parts).
We take such locutions seriously, and explore the relation of value magnitudes to value measurement, value properties and relations, and the laws of value. Specifically we will do this by posing and answering three broad research questions:
- What are value magnitudes and what is their logical structure?
- How are they related to value properties, to value measurement and to value aggregation?
- Are there different value magnitudes for distinct value domains
