Forms of Value and Valuation

Robert S. Hartman died an untimely death in 1973. Since then, many of his friends, colleagues, and former students have worked diligently on his formal theory of value and have made important advances in developing both the theory itself and practical applications of it. Those familiar with his work are convinced that he made extraordinary advances in theoretical and applied axiology. Bob Hartman saw the Form of the Good. He laid the foundations for a science of values, still being developed. This book is written by members of the Robert S. Hartman Institute to acquaint others better with his achievements and to forge ahead where he left many problems unresolved. Robert Schirokauer escaped from Nazi Germany in 1933 on a false passport that read Robert Hartman. He kept the name but later added the S. He became a prominent and highly innovative philosopher who dedicated his life to resolving problems about human values, as expressed in his own words: I thought to myself, if evil can be organized so efficiently [by the Nazis] why cannot good? Is there any reason for efficiency to be monopolized by the forces for evil in the world? Why have good people in history never seemed to have had as much power as bad people? I decided I would try to find out why and devote my life to doing something about it.Rem Edwards is President Emeritus of the Robert S. Hartman Institute and is Lindsay Young Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He received his PhD from Emory University.