On Values- Psychological, Sociological And Philosophical Perspectives

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Man is distinguished by his pursuit of values. He is of the earth, but his thoughts are with the stars. Mean and petty are his wants and desires yet they serve a soul exalted with grand, glorious airs, with immortal longings, with thoughts which sweep the heavens and wander through eternity.

Values are the goals generated by man's drives and attitudes; psychology is useful in understanding values in the framework of man's personality. Man lives in a society which conditions his behaviour, therefore sociology is useful in understanding the theories of values. But man is not a mere member of society. The ideal and the transcendent influence his behaviour for which philosophy is useful in understanding the theories of values. Thus, philosophy is a dialectical standpoint attained by the interaction between psychology and sociology. This study is limited only to those psychologists, sociologists and philosophers, who have discussed values and is approached from both the West and the East.

Man is a value-laden being possessed of a dignity and excellence untouched by the genetic principle. Man is thus the fulcrum which secures value in what otherwise must be a value-free world.

The leaf of the pipal tree (Ficus religiosa, family: Moraceae) is used in this book, as it symbolizes the quintessence of values. A deciduous or semi-evergreen tree, the pipal tree grows to an average height of ninety-eight feet, its trunk has a girth of about ten feet and its numerous leaves are about 3.9 to 6.7 inches in length and 3.1 to 4.7 inches broad with a delicate drip tip. The aestivation or layout of the leaves is so space-effective that the tree covers a vast area, and produces oxygen throughout the day and night, which is a unique feature.

Absorbing carbon dioxide and other harmful gases, offering shelter to birds, animals, and humans, the pipal tree offers sustainability to the planet. It has not only great ecological value as its networked root system fixes the soil and by its impressive branches and leaves attracts rain. Its vast spread have made people in rural India to erect benches at the base, which are used by village elders to hold panchayat (village administration) meetings, while women socialize or exhibit wares for sale and children utilize the space for recreation-thus political, social, economic and recreational values are supported by the pipal tree. The various parts of this tree are used in the preparation of herbal medicine and thus has economic value.

Sundari Krishnamurthy has been a career academic for over four decades at Stella Maris College (Autonomous) affiliated to the University of Madras from 1975 to 2019. As per India's Census 2011, Youth (15-24 years) in India constitutes one-fifth (19.1%) of India's total population. India is expected to have 34.33% share of youth in total population by 2020. Hence Sundari's dedication to youth. An Indophile Sundari is a popular invited speaker, leader of workshops and organizer of personality development programs for youth in different regions of rural, tribal and urban India. Deeply motivated to service she has volunteered at numerous social service organizations, causes and movements.

She is an active academician, who has presented over 170 papers, articles and presentations in numerous national and international conferences; guided thesis research at various levels including doctoral students; involved in the design of new courses and curriculum development and served in various advisory committees.

Values are ubiquitous and found in every arena of human life and in every period of history. In the contemporary era, many pessimists point out that values are declining or going out of existence. But a recent incident in the Tokyo Olympics 2019 (held due to Corona in 2021) shows that values in sportsmanship is still flourishing.

Quoted widely in newspapers worldwide and repeatedly shown in International Sports News Channels it showed Kenyan runner Abel Mutai, who was only a few meters from the finish line, but got confused with the signs and stopped, thinking that he had finished the race. BA Spanish man, Ivan Fernandez, was right behind him and realizing what was going on, started shouting at the Kenyan to keep running. Mutai did not know Spanish and did not understand.