Human Values & Wisdom

As humans, values of some sort guide all of our behaviour. Information on values, and how it can be organized, is seen by the UIA as one of the keys to the global organization of knowledge about organizations, strategies, or problems.The Human Values and Wisdom section of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential it is an ongoing attempt to provide profiles of, and map relationships between, the different guiding principles of human behaviour - which often occur in value polarities of constructive or destructive values - in the hopes that a more comprehensive understanding would greatly enhance our ability to deal with current global challenges.

Take for instance the value polarity of Attack and Defense. This reality of the human condition has been recognized in the proverbs of lay-people such as "Attack is the best form of defence" to the quotes of famous leaders, including "It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war" by J F Kennedy. The "destructive" value of attack, necessary as it might seem, generates world problems including racial intimidation and verbal abuse. However, the "constructive" value of defense also aggravates problems such as excessive parental defensiveness. Both values in turn give rise to strategies, both "positive" and "negative", and this value polarity is part of a wider complex of values based around interaction, and other examples could include Support/Opposition and Neutrality/Compromise.

The Human Values and Wisdom section of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential includes this value polarity as well as 3200 other value profiles and 120,000 relationships beteween them - from Anarchy, Boredom and Creativity, to Xenophobia, Youthfulness and Zealotry. The values presented are relevant to the aims of international constituencies (profiled in a complementary publication, the Yearbook of International Organizations) dealing with policy making for addressing world problems.

Value Value type
Irascibility D: Destructive values
Well-meaning C: Constructive values
Honour C: Constructive values
Horribleness D: Destructive values
Indignation D: Destructive values
Inexpedience D: Destructive values
Vulgarity D: Destructive values
Unexercised D: Destructive values
Animation C: Constructive values
Uncomplementary D: Destructive values
Volatility D: Destructive values
Unfulfilment D: Destructive values
Devotion C: Constructive values
Duress D: Destructive values
Ungodliness D: Destructive values
Soiled D: Destructive values
Shallowness D: Destructive values
Ordinariness C: Constructive values
Belief-Unbelief P: Value polarities
Vituperation D: Destructive values
Faith C: Constructive values
Bigness-Littleness P: Value polarities
Guile D: Destructive values
Despondency D: Destructive values
Vagueness D: Destructive values
Acceptance C: Constructive values
Truculence D: Destructive values
Self-respect C: Constructive values
Nondestructible D: Destructive values
Bogus D: Destructive values
Life*complex T: Value clusters
Lineage C: Constructive values
Falter D: Destructive values
Self-possession C: Constructive values
Covetousness D: Destructive values
Obstruction D: Destructive values
Renegade D: Destructive values
Worth C: Constructive values
Wantonness D: Destructive values
Insinuation D: Destructive values
Excitement-Inexcitability P: Value polarities
Regularity C: Constructive values
Majesty C: Constructive values
Infection D: Destructive values
Kindness C: Constructive values
Discernment C: Constructive values
Humility C: Constructive values
Unworkable D: Destructive values
Dumping D: Destructive values
Youth-Age P: Value polarities

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