Part 1: Formal Axiological Principles

Introduction

Now that you've learned something of Dr. Robert Hartman's life and vision, let's turn to the foundations of his work—the core principles of Formal and Applied Axiology, the science of value. In this lesson, we answer two foundational questions at the heart of formal axiology: What is “GOOD”? What is “VALUE”?

You’ll discover that Dr. Hartman was able to apply rigorous logic and mathematics to provide profoundly simple and universally true answers to these ancient questions.

What is Good?

At the heart of this science lies a profound yet deceptively simple question: What is good?

This was the question that burned in Dr. Hartman's mind as he fled Nazi Germany. It shaped the rest of his life.

His first—and perhaps most important—discovery was a logical, scientific, and universally true way to understand the concept of "good":

A thing is good to the degree that it has all the properties [or attributes] required to fulfill its concept or definition.

Logically, a chair is good if it possesses all the properties a chair is supposed to have.

What is Value?

Having arrived at this universally true understanding of goodness, Hartman then wondered whether value, too, could be understood with such objectivity.

With a doctorate in philosophy, he knew that philosophy alone could not answer the question. He would need to draw on his other doctorate—mathematics—to find the answer.

He began with the premise that every concept has a set of attributes that describe it.

For example, a simple chair might be described by a small set of attributes: four sturdy legs, a seat about knee-high, and a strong back to lean on.

But what about true love? Is there any limit to the number of attributes that describe true love?

Using set theory and transfinite calculus, Hartman proved that value is determined by the number of attributes in the set that describes the concept of the thing being valued. In short: the greater the complexity, the greater the value.

Three Dimensions of Value

Moreover, complexity itself falls into three mathematically defined categories—or dimensions of value—which he called systemic, extrinsic, and intrinsic.

We'll look more closely at the meaning and application of each dimension later in this series. For now, let's consider them in terms of complexity.

The systemic dimension deals with synthetic concepts like rules and ideas. Synthetic concepts contain just two dualistic possibilities: is or isn't, right or wrong, perfect or nonexistent. There are no shades or degrees in the systemic dimension.

The attribute sets of extrinsic things—such as a chair—can be highly complex, but not infinite. The extrinsic dimension is the dimension of degrees and comparisons: more, less, better, fair, worse. It's in the extrinsic dimension that one chair can be judged better, worse, or equal to another.

The intrinsic dimension is the dimension of infinite complexity. Like true love, it's the realm of the unique, the incomparable, the irreducible, and the irreplaceable.

The Hierarchy of Value

Based on degrees of complexity, these three dimensions form a hierarchy—a Hierarchy of Value—with systemic things having the least value (though still valuable), and intrinsic things holding the greatest value: infinite value, in fact.

This way of understanding and identifying value is not grounded in morality, ethics, religion, or social norms. It is pure mathematics.

What Hartman discovered isn't just a hierarchy of value; it is the Hierarchy of Value—scientific, mathematical, and universal. Everything in existence can be identified and accurately valued according to this hierarchy.

You might ask, "Isn't value something we decide for ourselves? Don't different people value different things? How can there possibly be a universal hierarchy of value?"

While that's true in one sense, the hierarchy isn't about whether chocolate ice cream is more valuable than vanilla. Ice cream is ice cream—vanilla and chocolate are simply extrinsic attributes, flavors, of an extrinsic thing.

What the hierarchy tells us—mathematically, axiologically—is that the systemic concept of a bowl of ice cream has fewer attributes and value than an actual bowl of ice cream (which is extrinsic), and which in turn has fewer attributes and value than the glorious intrinsic experience of savoring a freezing cold bowl of delicious ice cream on a hot summer day.

It is this framework that is universal. Everything in existence fits within it.

Summary

So, the first two core principles of Formal Axiology are:

A thing is good to the degree that it has all the properties [or attributes] required to fulfill its concept or definition.

and…

There is a mathematically defined, universal Hierarchy of Value consisting of three Dimensions of Value—Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Systemic—in that order.

Since Hartman's death in 1973, science has made extraordinary discoveries in psychology, neuroscience, and physics. These principles have stood true across all sciences, cultures, and contexts.