By focusing here on cardinal values, I do not mean to give short shrift either to their foundation in the value of life or to the values of everyday living. Regarding the value of life, I see the core human capacities as fundamentally capacities for living . All of these particular values conduce to or can been as instances of one or more of the cardinal values. Work is a prime example of creating value in the world, of achieving goals, of applying values. I find that work gives me an expansive field for self-direction, for choosing what I d like to pursue in life, for selectively attending to what I find interesting and important.
Work also involves a great deal of thought.
Even for those who are not active as producers of art, I think the highest experience and greatest enjoyment of art come from discussing art with others, thinking about it, reflecting on it, selectively attending to what one likes and does not, seeking out art one might enjoy, etc. I think they do, at a certain level of abstraction. Regarding what I call the more particular values, Ayn Rand is famous for having made specific prescriptions. Partly this is because she was a novelist and needed to present characters who had specific measurements along the dimensions I ve discussed. I think that these conclusions are misguided and concrete-bound, and that a focus on cardinal values can result in a more balanced, healthy, and conceptual perspective on the particular values of everyday life.