Prof. Finney -- Office 111

HIS 228: Technology and Society

ANALYTIC POLAR VALUE CONTINUUM

Introduction: Ethics, and the values that lie behind them, are notoriously slippery concepts to define and use. One way to help slightly is to consider the undergirding values as polar opposites and attempt to locate behavior (culture) along the axis of these contiuum. What follows is a list of some of these polar value contiuum.

Dependent-----------------------------------------------Independent

Insecure--------------------------------------------------------Secure

Meaningless --------------------------------------------- Meaningful

Unfulfilling ------------------------------------------------- Fulfilling

Incompetent --------------------------------------------- Competent

Alienated --------------------------------------------------- Solidarity

Ugly --------------------------------------------------------- Beautiful

Chaotic ------------------------------------------------------- Orderly

Violent ------------------------------------------------------ Peaceful

Impoverished ------------------------------------------------ Affluent

Authoritarian -------------------------------------------- Democratic

Enslaved --------------------------------------------------------- Free

Unstable -------------------------------------------------------- Stable

Complex -------------------------------------------------------Simple

Hierarchical ---------------------------------------------- Egalitarian

Unpleasant ----------------------------------------------------- Joyful

Power ----------------------------------------------------------- Love

Exploiting ------------------------------------------------- Nurturing

Large-Scale --------------------------------------------- Small-Scale

Selfish --------------------------------------------------------- Giving

Irrational ---------------------------------------------------- Rational

False ------------------------------------------------------------- True

Insincere ------------------------------------------------------ Sincere

Foolish ----------------------------------------------------------- Wise

Fast Entropic ---------------------------------------- Slow Entropic

Parochial ---------------------------------------------- Cosmopolitan

Routinized --------------------------------------------- Spontaneous

Sickly -------------------------------------------------------- Healthy

Dangerous ------------------------------------------------------- Safe

Dirty ------------------------------------------------------------ Clean

Coercive --------------------------------------------------- Voluntary

Slow -------------------------------------------------------------- Fast