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What are British Values?

What are British Values?. What are British Values? How do we begin to define Britishness?. British Values are those things upon which, collectively , we place value (we consider them valuable, important). British Values are not what each individual personally consider to be “important”

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What are British Values?

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  1. What are British Values?

  2. What are British Values? How do we begin to define Britishness?

  3. British Values are those things upon which, collectively, we place value (we consider them valuable, important)

  4. British Values are not what each individual personally consider to be “important” (those are personal values)

  5. British Values are by their very nature a collective “world view” (a general outlook that governs the way we make decisions)

  6. British Values have developed over time, and especially since 1707 – the Act of Union – when local interests became synonymous with national (British) interests

  7. Let’s look at British values along 4 distinct “vectors” – four different elements of national and personal life – and how they interact

  8. Then let’s look at some “values” to which most Britons will subscribe

  9. OK – the word “vectors” sounds a bit academic – let’s just focus on that .....

  10. Vectors: A “vector” is a line of direction – in science its the idea of direction + quantity We can think of it like this:

  11. Vectors: Self awareness and self understanding vs. Collective and national temperament

  12. Personal Cosmological Vector

  13. Ouch! Another complex sounding idea. A personal cosmological vector. What do we mean?

  14. Personal Cosmological Vector This is a person’s philosophical or religious approach to the world as we find it ......

  15. Personal Cosmological Vector Why are we here and what is my place in the world?

  16. Whether one is religious or completely irreligious, it is inevitable that each individual will have some cosmological framework

  17. Such frameworks are not set in stone – they can change over time But they are there ...... Personal Cosmological Vector

  18. For this discussion we will call this the Man and God Dynamic

  19. We repeat that this dynamic is not restricted to conventionally “religious” people – each person has some “framework” irrespective of what they personally believe

  20. Let’s plot this on our flag .....

  21. God Man

  22. So that’s the vertical “vector” – it governs the way we approach the world

  23. For many people there will not be a “God” in their conscious thinking ......

  24. For these people the idea of “God” is directly replaced with “Nothing” Such a framework still “informs” their worldview

  25. For our discussion, though, we will continue to call it the “God-Man” vector

  26. This is the first “vector” along which values will be formed What is the second?

  27. The second is like the first and is an extension of it

  28. Societal Cosmological Vector

  29. Ouch! Yet another complex sounding idea. A societal cosmological vector. What on earth do we mean?

  30. This is really about our collective views about how society is to organise itself. Historically in Britain – and probably in most western countries – this tends to coalesce around the concepts of church and state.

  31. Church and State – how do they coexist in a manner satisfactory to both?

  32. Plainly this concept links directly with the Personal Cosmological Vector Most people – irrespective of personal beliefs – look for a balance of interests. Why?

  33. Historically most people look for this balance, recognising that the two “great estates” act as a counterbalance to each other – denying both absolute power

  34. Church State

  35. We repeat – these ideas are independent of a person’s particular “beliefs” about the cosmos and their place in it

  36. These ideas give us a framework of reference. Held by a vast majority of people, these ideas “inform” our value system.

  37. What have we got so far?

  38. God Church State Man

  39. What is the third “vector”?

  40. The third “vector” we can call the “individual vector”

  41. This is about how individuals view themselves and their place as individuals in wider society

  42. Its true, again, that everyone will have their own framework to understand this dynamic

  43. Do these frameworks influence national characteristics and so influence national value systems?

  44. You decide .......

  45. Individual Vector

  46. The individual vector helps us to focus on basic questions like: • what do we want from life? • what makes us “tick”? • who are we?

  47. But the individual vector also helps us to focus on how we interact with other individuals and with society at large:

  48. Value of the individual Personal Responsibility

  49. Value of the individual • We repeat – this is about .... • What do we want from life? • what makes us “tick”? • who are we?

  50. Value of the individual This is how we view ourselves as individuals

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