During the final decade or so of his life, Hartman frequently delivered a series of lectures in which he outlined the need for a scientific theory of human values, the theoretical requirements demanded of an effective value theory, and his rationale behind the development of the particular value theory he developed, which he named formal axiology.
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Modern civilization can calculate the motion of planets and unleash atomic power—yet remains dangerously unsure about right and wrong, and even about what it means to call something “good.” Hartman opens with a blunt diagnosis: our technical knowledge has outpaced our moral knowledge, and the gap is no longer academic—it is existential.
In these lectures—presented in Hartman’s clearest, most direct form—he makes an audacious proposal: value can be treated with scientific rigor. He defines the core axiom with disarming precision: “A thing is good if, and only if, it fulfills the set of intensional properties of its concept.” From that single move, Hartman builds a framework that separates muddled moral talk from clear thinking, identifies recurring fallacies, and explains how valuation works across three distinct dimensions—systemic, extrinsic, and intrinsic—grounded in the logic of concepts and supported by a transfinite mathematical model.
The final lecture turns theory into stakes and practice—applying formal axiology to political economy, international affairs, and personal ethics—and arguing that nothing less than human survival may depend on getting value right.
Category: Non-Fiction
Release date: April 23, 2019
Page size: 5″ x 8″
Word count: 31,685
Estimated page count: 142
Robert S. Hartman (1910-1973) was learned in a variety of fields. He was a philosopher, business consultant, writer, activist, economist, ethicist, and mathematician. His lifelong quest was to answer the question, “What is good?” When, at last, he found an answer, he articulated it in his theory of human values known as formal axiology. His goal was to organize goodness in such a way as to help preserve and enhance the value of human life.
Hartman’s writings are difficult to read. His Five Lectures on Formal Axiology are perhaps his easiest to understand explanation of the basics of his value theory.
Almost fifty years beyond his death, the legacy of Robert Hartman and his axiology is uncertain. In an age of rampant social media and international policy being conducted by unreflective tweets, almost any “philosopher” seems archaic. The excellent work of scholarship and insight exhibited by Hartman’s lectures on axiology is vital. It allows an important piece of Hartman’s work to find new light and—with any good fortune—claim yet a further breath of sustainability and relevance.
This is Hartman’s clearest and most definitive work in one volume. It should be mandatory reading for anyone who cares aboutthe value crises plaguing our leaders, organizations, and governments. Hartman’s value theory is as pivotal and relevant for a world fractured by competing value orientations as his own Zeitgeist.
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