Understanding Value Change

This book provides the first comprehensive philosophical examination of value change. It offers both a theoretical framework for understanding value change and innovative empirical methods for studying it, paying particular attention to its implications for technological design and development.Value change is the phenomenon that encompasses different types of transformations in how individuals and societies understand and prioritize what is valuable. The authors address three core questions: How can we conceptually understand value change? How can we empirically study it? What are its implications for technological design and development? By distinguishing between different types of value change and introducing novel research methods—including interpretative phenomenological analysis, topic modeling, and agent-based modeling—the authors provide valuable tools for scholars and practitioners alike. The book's interdisciplinary approach combines philosophical inquiry with empirical research methods, offering a robust foundation for understanding how values evolve in relation to technological and societal developments.Understanding Value Change is essential reading for philosophers, ethicists, social scientists, and technologists interested in the intersection of ethics, technology, and social change, particularly those working in responsible innovation and value-sensitive design.