The Philosophy of Value

The Philosophy of Value presents sixteen chapters investigating a wide variety of issues concerning value. The chapters address general theoretical issues, adopting a tight analytic approach: the foundations of utilitarianism, incommensurable values, and the measurement of people's wellbeing. Running through the volume is a critical examination of the ethical basis of economics. However, the chapters also demonstrate the application of mathematical methods that were pioneered within economics. Alongside these general issues, the volume includes chapters devoted to the particular issue of the value of human life, considering the value of prolonging existing lives and also the value of bringing new lives into existence, the subject of population ethics. These chapters include assessments of practical applications in public health and cost-benefit analysis. A particular focus is the application of value theory to the vital problem of climate change: the volume closes with a concrete proposal to harness people's self-interest as a means of stopping climate change.