Values & Evaluations

Evaluations

Estimations or assessments of worthiness, excellence, value

Values
                        Bases of evaluations - the norms or standards used in evaluations

 

Types of Evaluations

 

Objective and subjective evaluations can use the same language - "X is good" - but what this means varies greatly depending on the type of evaluation
 

Objective Evaluations

Objective standards are employed

Standards do not directly depend upon the individual evaluator

Usually agreed upon and the same for each evaluator in the relevant group

Focus is on the object
      Does that which is being evaluated conform to the standards?

             Evaluator is relatively unimportant

Tendency towards generalized agreement

Answer results from a mediated process using reason

Does not significantly vary among individuals

“X is good” is a statement of fact about the object or action being evaluated, viz., it conforms to the standards being employed

 

Subjective Evaluations

Subjective standards are employed

            Standards directly stem from and depend upon the individual evaluator and are generally assumed

            Standards are not the same for each evaluator

Focus is on the subject (i.e., evaluator)

           What is his/her opinion of the object?

Varying degrees of agreement/disagreement

Answer generally immediate, i.e., unmediated, and do not employ reason

“X is good” is a statement of opinion by the subject, viz., he/she is of this belief or opinion about the object

 

The difference of meaning may be summarized in the contradictory or non-contradictory character of opposing evaluations

 

Source of Standards

 

Objective Standards

Objective/purpose of the object/action;

Recognized authority;

Other - any non-subjective

 

Subjective Standards

The individual person: his/her likes, tastes, feelings, etc.

 

 

Variations

Objective standards

Sources

Objective/purpose of the object/action;

Recognized authority;

Other - any non-subjective

Nothing makes a particular standard "correct", i.e., one that in a given situation should be used

 

Variations of objective standards are dependent on variation of subjective standards - our particular likes, dislikes, etc.

Whatever determines the subjective standards determines the objective standards that are used in a given situation.
Thus, the ultimate source of each type of standard is seemingly the same.

 

Source of Variations

To understand values and evaluations the basic question is: Why do people employ the standards that they do, i.e., what determines the subjective standards we employ?

 

Answers define your experiences and cultural background
These variations are largely determinative of how the world is perceived and our individual likes, tastes, feelings, etc., i.e., our subjective standards

These, in turn, determine the objective standards we adopt

Not a "correct" perspective

Summation

As human beings we evaluate

Evaluations are objective or subjective

Standards applied in objective evaluations are not "correct" but stem from our subjective standards

These are largely accidents of birth and history

Moral Discourse???

With this seeming arbitrariness is meaningful moral discourse possible?

Informed vs. "correct"