Value as a Subject-Object Relation

Dfpolis May 26, 2025 at 16:00 800 views 4 comments
I recently presented a conference paper exploring the nature of value using Aristotle's analysis of subject-object relations as the actualization of potency as a paradigm. I argue that value can neither be fully quantified nor rank-ordered. Consequently, terms like "optimal decision" and "greatest utility" may be undefined. It is further argued that abstraction and the universal principles that result are often inadequate to the task of actual decision making. Valuing is seen as connatural comprehension followed by intentional commitment. If you would like to read and comment on the paper, the link is https://www.academia.edu/129563231/Value_Measure_and_Intention.

Comments (4)

alan1000 August 11, 2025 at 14:22 #1006304
Dfpolis, I need some help. The abstract of your article contains such outrageous grammatical errors that I am inclined to suspect either that it was written by rather poor AI, or that you are only semi-literate. The second problem is that to read the article, I have to sign on to a website, with the obvious security compromise which that entails. May I suggest that you summarise your chief arguments within this thread so that we may address them in a more expeditious way.
alan1000 August 11, 2025 at 14:37 #1006306
If it gives you any encouragement, I will comment on the original post. You assert that value can "neither be fully quantified nor rank-ordered. Consequently, terms like "optimal decision" and "greatest utility" may be undefined." This requires qualification; a moment's reflection suggests that context is important here. To a person drowning in a freshwater lake, the value of drinking water is minimal; to a person dying of thirst in a desert, it is everything. All valuation, by definition, is relative; to the person dying in the desert, the value of drinking water will be at the top of any conceivable scale, and therefore, can be objectively quantified, for the purposes of that scale.
Leontiskos August 11, 2025 at 18:54 #1006358
Quoting alan1000
The abstract of your article contains such outrageous grammatical errors that I am inclined to suspect either that it was written by rather poor AI, or that you are only semi-literate.


You are mistaken. There are no grammatical errors in the abstract.

It looks like an interesting article.

Quoting alan1000
The second problem is that to read the article, I have to sign on to a website, with the obvious security compromise which that entails.


Academia.edu is a highly regarded website, and your idea that having to sign in is prohibitive doesn't make much sense. You also have to sign in on TPF, after all.
Astorre August 16, 2025 at 20:23 #1007656
I was unable to read your article, unfortunately. You claim that value cannot be quantified, but the question arises: why should value be quantified or ranked in the first place? If the goal is to choose the least of evils, this approach is known as utilitarianism. Are you criticizing utilitarianism?