In the article, the author defined the term values as a recent notion that are seen in everyday life and the author argued that without values human behavior would be chaotic and destructive. The author also said that many value systems are based on the short-cut of authority and others are based on deductive logic.
The author’s example about how Christianity is often associated with authority and at the same times it is associated with emotional and intuitive drives as well. I think that most value systems are no merely short-cuts of authority; instead, I think that values are more genetically programmed and I would like to share an example in which the notion of values are being challenged by people.
Last semester, I took a class in legal theories and we discussed about a scenario about marriage in between relatives. In my country, some people would marry their extended family members a long time ago and after the government has banned this practice, the marriage between relatives has become a social taboo. You might argue that the government’s authority is acting as a direction of values in this case, but when asked about the question whether marriage between relatives are acceptable, my peers from other cultural backgrounds where the government does not forbid such as practice also answered no. Even after telling them that such marriage is proven not to have negative biological outcomes in reproduction, most people still consider such practice shameful or guilty. I think that in this case, the value about marriage is genetically driven instead of being directed by authority. Values such as respecting the elderly and love the youth are likely genetic trends as well as compared to manifestations of power system.
However, I do agree that the term value is very hard to define and we should always keep an open mind on the discourse of values.
Jingyi, I agree with you when you say that value judgments when made using the authority of religion like the Catholic church is by necessity also heavily involved in the “emotional mental node,” and this can lead us to wonder if the mental node of emotion is the most common node used as emotions can be subconscious and effect decisions that appear to be logical. I think that the example you provided is a really interesting one, it makes me wonder if a mandate of the state is in practice really a value judgment. As the individuals have no say in the matter and therefore they really never made a judgment or went through the mental process of making a judgment based on value. It is like you said a manifestation of the power system and does not really tell us what the values of the individuals are, however the mindset of the public tends to be affected by what the rule of law is.
After reading through your post, I really liked what you said about religions not being a short cut for authority. There are a lot of things that are engrained in the culture in which you were raised and the environment you live in. The example of marriage was an interesting one as it really helped to describe your point and further it forward. Although at the same time, government could also be a short cut to authority along with religion. With the government dictating certain things as being right and wrong, this can change people’s perceptions on values and beliefs. Additionally, I do believe some people can use religion as an easy road to a given set of beliefs and values. Instead of thoroughly thinking through the teachings of the Bible of Quran, many people completely miss the interpretation part. I remember once speaking with a Jewish Rabbi who said that in deciphering text from religious texts, one must first understand, then interpret and apply to our current culture. Many people completely skip the interpret part and take the text as the law or values. In this case, could religion be used as a shortcut to authority? I enjoyed your post a lot though, and I found it really fascinating.