Value Theory

Definition: Value Theory is the study of the worth or value of ideas, things, people or anything else. VT aims to understand how, why and to what degree individual people or groups (organizations) value anything.
This 'worth' can be viewed as economic value, but also as moral, ethical, legal, aesthetic or any other type of value.
Values are at the root of our individual and collective behavior.
In ancient philosophy, it was called axiology or ethics, seeking to understand good and evil and the concept of "the good".
Today VT is focusing on measuring what people do value, attempting to understand why they value it in the context of psychology, sociology, and economics.

More on value theory. More on ethics: Consequentialism, Values.