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PhilosophicalThought
Intoday’ssocietythereisalsoacomparativelylowlevelofaxiologicaland
normativecompetence.Thisisduetothefactthatthevaluesthatwebelievein
andstriveeverydaytoembody,andalsothosethatlieattherootofstandards
ofconduct,aswellasthepracticalarrangements,convictions,andworldviews
arerarelysubjectedtoreflectionandcriticaldiscussion.Wedonotthinkabout
themeveryday,wedonottalkaboutthemand,consequently,wearelittleaware
ofthefacthowmuchouropinions,evaluations,choices,anddecisionsdepend
onthestructureandorderofindividualaxiologicalmaps,storedandoperating
partlybelowthethresholdofconsciousness.
Atthesametime,itescapesourattentionthat,atanymoment,through
manynewschannelswhichareusedbymodernsociety,astreamofmessages
comestous,containinglapartfromliterallyexpressedcontentlarichandan
importantaxiologicalcomponent.Littleareweawareofthefactthatatalllevels
ofcommunicationlfromtheintimatetothemassonelwepassnotonlythe
pureinformation,butalsoanumberofelementsthataffectourperceptionofthe
sphereofvalues.However,thisoccursonthemarginsofourobservationfieldor
completelyoutsideitsboundaries.Whenweconsciouslyanalyzethecontentof
thereceivedmessages,onlyinexceptionalcases,wedrawattentiontoexploring,
discoveringorcreatingvaluestakingplacethroughthem.Inpractice,theseare
theaxiologicalcomponentsofcontentsassimilatedbyus,whichmoredurably
andeffectivelythantheinformationcontentaffectourattitudes,shapeourown
prioritiesofevaluationandpreferences,andindirectlyareabletogreatlyhelp
tochangetheexistingbeliefs.Itisanaturalandnecessaryprocess,sinceevery
day,whilelivingandexperiencingtherichnessoftheexternalandinternalcon-
tentsfillingourlives,weconcentratenotsomuchonanintellectualreflection
(exceptforveryfewcases),butonwhatmakesourlifehappyandfulfilled,or
onthecontrarylpitifulandmiserable.AFrenchphilosopherEmmanuelLévi-
nasnoticed:“Welivefrom‘goodsoup’,air,light,spectacles,work,ideas,sleep,
etc.Thesearenotobjectsofrepresentations.Welivefromthem.[ł]Theyare
alwaysinacertainmeasurelandeventhehammers,needles,andmachines
arelobjectsofenjoyment,presentingthemselvesto‘taste’[ł].Thesecontents
arelived:theyfeedlife.”7Theseextremelyinsightfulandaccurateobservations
byLévinasconcernnotonlyourcommunicationwithmaterialthings,butalsol
ashenotedlwithideas.Ourattitudetoideas,thoughtsandopinions,whichwe
feedourselveswithorwhichwemeetbyparticipatingindiscussionsandbyas-
similatingthecontentofthepublicationsormediabroadcasts,doesnotrelyon
purelyrationalassimilationandexclusivelyrationalanalysis,butlasLévinas
wrotelwelivefromthem,weexperiencetheircontentsandtheirwayofpublic
presentation,wedelightinthemorwefeelrepugnant,sometimesfearful,un-
7EmanuelLévinas,TotalityandInfinity.AnEssayonExteriority,trans.AlphonsoLingis
(Pittsburgh,PA:DuquesneUniversity,2011),110-11.