ABSTRACT
The term values is usually highly valued. It refers to the good and desirable, especially when linked to the realm of morality. Values and morality are also associated with one of the highly valued concepts in late 20th-century social scientific thought, that of culture. Without denying their clearly positive aspects, this chapter is based on the proposition that values and cultures are dynamic and multifaceted phenomena that can have non-positive features as well. Values perceived as positive by some people can have negative implications for others. Moreover, a set of values can have both positive and negative implications for the same persons. I consider how values—and social judgments—might embody positive and negative components, whose coexistence can produce changes in social practices and cultural configurations. The idea that value clashes can result in transformations in cultural practices presupposes that values are connected to individuals’ social reasoning, that argumentation and rational discourse occur among members of a culture, and that cultural practices or ideologies are interpreted and reflected on by individuals. Viewing culture in conjunction with judgments, reflection, and social discourse implies that diversity is an important component within cultures, as well as between them.
