Our lives are filled with everyday questions of fact and finance. Which investment brings the highest return? What school district is the house in? What will this candidate actually do if elected? But the really fundamental questions of our lives, says Professor Patrick Grim, are questions of neither fact nor finance. The really fundamental questions are questions of value. These are the deep questions that apply to every aspect of our lives.
What is it that gives something genuine value? What things are really worth striving for? What is it that makes life worth living? Are there values that transcend cultural differences? Can we have ethical values without religion? If the universe operates in terms of deterministic laws, how can there be real choice? Is all value subjective? We can even ask if life is always worth living, or whether in some situations we would be better off dead.