The Body produces signals that we need food, water and possibly sex and predictions of what will be needed in the future. Satisfaction of these needs or progress towards fulfilling them is rewarded by the dopamine system.
However, none of these engage the narrative centres of brain. That is where values are attributed to outcomes. We don’t really understand this well but generally it is seen as involving meachanisms for ensuring long term stability and taking account of social considerations.
I dont like to use the term consciousness as its always subject to gross misuse but deliberative reasoning about alternative ends seems essential to the creation od stable values.
Yes. I don’t have any objections to your OP. I just want you to clarify that, if that’s the case, then what else should we discuss? I guess I’m trying to clarify what is controversial about your view.
It is a sharp point that individual values and community values may differ. A community may value honest work, a good night’s sleep and quality time with family, but an individual may think otherwise. A particular person may opt for easy money, stay up till 4 AM playing loud metal music and consider their parents to be the annoying baggage of biology.
How this ties into biochemistry and genetics is that there could be genetically determined preferences for certain biochemical states.
Let us specify the context for values here. It has a really wide meaning. I mean to discuss it in the context of an autonomous agent(human individual). Values here are the weight of each possible goal (or telos) worth of action. If we place those agents in an absolutely identical environment (humanless, for simplification) one at a time, we can observe specific behavioral patterns, which are not affected by cultural pressure, and they are invariant. Virtues, as I see them, represent behavior showing high moral standards, which is how one agent evaluates the behavioral quality of other reletively.
Thank you for concise questions. Are you agree on the absence of paradox? This is not about survival, when something is abundant, it has low value independent of survival considerations. Nothing wrong with your dictionary reference, but the word “beliefs” implies induced values (one type of values group). I am also talking about the second group, which is inborn.
The water-diamond paradox of value is that H_2 O is critical to life while diamonds are not and yet we have to pay more for a rock than water. Is this not off enough for you to think it a paradox? Ask an astronaut, if you meet one, which one of the 2 - water/ice - they would like to have on board the spaceship.
Values are cultural artifacts and will behave in an appropriate manner. A person - alone - may not toe the community’s line for reasons like preference for a particular biochemical state, which itself depends on the inherited genetic combination. For example if I inherit the don’t-give-a-damn-about-anyone gene and like-sex-very-much gene, I’ll have sex indiscriminately.
I checked the link you provided. The discussion is about social values of an individuum, large topic too. We are discussing the origins of values of individuum here.
“why is water, which is essential for human survival, so cheap, while diamonds, which are largely non-essential, are so expensive?” → artificial illusion, not a paradox. It is out of context. If all continents would be covered with diamonds, we would get water more expensive. When we have limited amounts stable materials like gold, diamonds, etc., we use them as minted NFT(money). And even in that case, some diamonds are so small, that cost less then a bottle of water.
Let us specify the context for values here. It has really wide meaning. I mean to discuss it in context of automomous agent(human individual). Values here are weight of each possible goal (or telos) worth of action. If we place those agents in absolutly identical environment (humanless, for simplification) one at a time , we can observe specific behavioral patterns, which are not affected by cultural pressure and they are invariant.
There are different kinds of values, e.g. Christian values, family values, pirate values, samurai values, the list goes on.
A solitary agent living sans human contact could be compared to entire uncontacted tribes like the Sentinelese (Andaman islands, Indian Ocean). I hear they don’t like visitors - some have learned that the hard way. Isolationism can take many forms e.g. sequestering oneself in the woods and watching tape-recorded shows supplied by minions (well-wishers), avoiding making friends and relying on indirect means of communication, etc.. In such circumstances, not out of choice obviously, odd values can creep in, mostly superstitions but even cannibalism ( ) , but they do the trick, of keeping the tribe together (have I forgotten anything?). A singular agent, alas, has no means to effect such mutually-reinforcing feedback loops. Sad.
You’re right; you’ve listed socially induced values, but I’m focusing on the origins of individual values. For example, university students often choose to study courses they believe align with their values. However, some eventually realize they need to change their field of study or even drop out to pursue business ideas. Why does this happen? Initially, they followed induced values—shaped by family, friends, blogs, and other influences—but later discovered their true, inborn values. Induced values are like software, while true values are like hardware. I would like to explore the physical mechanisms behind this process.
I agree, lets define the context: university students often choose to study courses they believe align with their values. However, some eventually realize they need to change their field of study or even drop out to pursue business ideas. Why does this happen? Initially, they followed induced values—shaped by family, friends, blogs, and other influences—but later discovered their true, inborn values. Induced values are like software, while true values are like hardware. Food consumption desire belongs to inborn values(hardwired).
I’ve already provided you a good chunk of material to bite into. Build on that. If you’re interested in the physical processes involved, take a course in biology and allied subjects. Your best shot is to create a team of experts and you may get on the field with them, get all dirty and all, or watch from the sidelines, with a rayban to shield your eyes from glare., like a true team leader. It depends where you stand in the community/team. No?
In my idea, value is mental disposition or state on something, religious or moral belief etc. It is not something that motivates or drives you into actions to achieve it.
You can value going to university and getting a degree for your future without actually doing it. You can value moral goodness as an ideal for human beings to pursue without actually performing moral goods.
You can value certain religious beliefs without committing yourself to the religious institution as a follower or member, because you believe in afterlife or their principles in the system, or their beliefs make sense to you.
Values can be foundation or criteria for your making decisions or choices on certain options.
What drives and motivates you doing something you believe, want or value would be your goals for achieving certain things in life. If you didn’t work hard and actually moved yourself for achieving your goals, then your goal would be deemed to be a failure. You would be forced to do whatever takes to achieve the goal you set for your life.
However, you don’t need to do anything to have a value on something, and just keep it as a value without having to achieve anything. It is just your mental state or disposition on something. And time to time, your value could be the reason why you are making certain decisions or choices from the available option.
For food consumption desire, it is just a part of animal instinct for survival.
Without food consumption, living beings will die biological death, hence it is programmed into the biological body with the desire for food consumption.
This desire is not matter for mental disposition or state. It is purely biological function and instinct for survival.
Let me ask your opinion. Why is one individual composing music, but another building a rocket? Are you interested in why [quote=“Corvus, post:41, topic:1438”]
mental disposition or state on something
[/quote] (as you stated)) This is not an origin, it is consequences.
) , but they do the trick, of keeping the tribe together (have I forgotten anything?). A singular agent, alas, has no means to effect such mutually-reinforcing feedback loops. Sad.
and you may get on the field with them, get all dirty and all, or watch from the sidelines, with a rayban to shield your eyes from glare., like a true team leader. 
It depends where you stand in the community/team. No?