Category: Unit 02

Family
Friendship
Integrity
Loyalty
Wealth
Personal Development
Enjoyment
Wisdom
Personal Accomplishment
Community
Security
Service
Independence
Health
Leadership
Prestige
Creativity
Location
Power
Expertness

The first thing that stuck out to me when looking at my top 5 life values in comparison with what I’ve done over the past day was that literally everything that I did, had something to do with the top 5 mentioned. Family and integrity were the two biggest belief patters that I inherited from my family with family being the most important of all. I was taught at a very young age that no matter what happened throughout life good or bad you could always rely on your family for advice or help. For example, this morning I called up my brother a few hours ago to see how everything was going for him and to just talk about things in general. He’s currently stationed in Ft. Benning, Georgia right now as a member of the army so I haven’t been able to see him much. My brother and I have always been very close I try and talk to him at least twice a week. Today, I also went out and had lunch with one of my friends that I haven’t seen in a while. We were roommates freshman year, yet over the past few terms we kind of went our separate ways. It really bugged me that I hadn’t talked to him in a while so I made it a point to see if he wanted to get something to eat and catch up. I value every single one of my friendships which is why its number 3 on my list and I proactively try to keep them all intact whether young or old. This interaction double dips with number 4 on my list as well, this showing loyalty to my friends.

My last two values are wealth and integrity. Over these past 3 and a half years of college my whole mindset was, “ you have to get a good job so you can make more money and be happy”. However, this is the one value now that I can honestly say is no longer valid. Money, although important isn’t everything in life. I was raised in a middle class family and there were times where we didn’t have the money to do certain things yet my parents always found a way to bring me and my brother enjoyment even if it meant giving up that trip to Disneyland due to cost and instead being replaced with a day of fishing. In addition, I would say that this is now one of my current goals in life that I want to continue to pursue. No matter what the money circumstance is I always want to make sure that I find a way to make life enjoyable. This could mean a day on the lake or simply kicking back with friends and watching football. Whatever it is, I want to make sure that I’m bringing enjoyment to myself and my friends around me. Last but not least, is the value of integrity. I try each and every day to hold myself accountable to my conscience and that means sometimes doing things that most other people wouldn’t do in certain situations. For example, yesterday I was at the store and the clerk rang me up for 5 dollars less than it should have been. Most people would have kept quiet and not said a word but that’s not what my conscience told me to do. I pointed out her mistake and she ended up giving me the 5 dollars off anyway because it was her mistake. However, I felt at peace with my conscience knowing I did the right thing. Integrity is trait that you don’t see a lot of anymore and I try and hold myself to the highest standard of that as well.

On page 7 at the very bottom, a question is asked that I had never really thought about before that rather peaked my interest. Lewis asks, “But do values, in the sense of freely chosen values, truly exist? Are human beings instead driven by inherited instincts, instincts that we like to dress up with the term values, so that we can pretend there is a measure of choice in the process, when it is really all programmed into our genes”(Lewis 7)? In response to his own question he states that, “there is a good deal of evidence that human beings are not primarily driven by genetically determined instincts but are rather free to make their own choices” (Lewis 7)

I would like to first agree with this statement as I have found that not all of my family and friends believe in the same things as their parents or grandparents. For example, one of my best friends from high school is a stout conservative who agrees with almost anything and everything that he reads on fox news or hears on conservative radio. His dad however is the complete opposite. His core beliefs lie solely in the democratic party and he is quite liberal on almost every major political issue. Did my friend’s parents beliefs get passed down to him through his genetics? Obviously not because they are on both ends of the spectrum when it comes to politics. However, they are identical in physique, voice tone, and have the exact same mannerisms as one another so obviously their genetic makeup as far as physical appearance goes is pretty much identical. This just goes to show that in terms of our “values” and “beliefs”, not all are always passed down to us from the genetics of our parents or grandparents.

However, on the opposite side I would also concur that about 90% of my friends share the same beliefs and values as their parents. Ultimately giving a valid argument to the latter of what I stated above.

In conclusion, I believe that yes, human beings are free to make their own choices and decide on issues for themselves. But at the same time I also believe that a big part of the issue is the overall personality, influences, and upbringing of the child which play the biggest role in what they believe as adults.

Source: Lewis, H. (1990). A Question of Values: Six Ways We Make the Personal Choices That Shape Our Lives. Axios Press