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Tue 27 May, 2008 02:07 pm
A yes or no answer turns on whether values are objective, that is they are external to us and somehow intrinsicly a part of objects, or whether they are subjective, in which case it would be a matter of how we feel about the objects we value.
But if there are universal values, then maybe values are objective, and would exist if we did not.
Another question you could ask is do animals value things?
If humanity did not exist but other life did, and if they valued things, then values would indeed exist, even if we did not.
I do not know how plausible the last question is though.
It all depends on how tautological we're getting concerning values and whether we consider the existence of 'values' to be on a sliding scale or not (in reference to animals vs. humans with values). Bonobos sure act a lot like people in many respects and have very complex social organization, for example, all reinforced with what we'd see as 'rudimentar' values. Similarly, chimps can become jealous or make a fuss when they see a situation they consider to be unfair. Like when I cut the cake and take a waaaay bigger piece

. As for whether values would exist without any life, I'd vote no.
Would values exist if humanity did not?
I do not think that values are either objective or subjective. But value implies desire, a plot to organize everything according to what it means.
It's easy to see how this is an automatic process of object's effect on subject. The value of food is relief from hunger.
The value of human life, for instance, stems from a more complex desire, in a more complex creature, but it is the same mechanism.
So I think values are intrinsic to the system they apply in, and without that system they are nothing.
So no humanity, no (human) values.