Value theory studies the nature, sources, and types of values. Value is the worth of something, usually understood as covering both positive and negative degrees corresponding to the terms good and bad. Values influence many human endeavors related to emotion, decision-making, and action. Value theorists distinguish between intrinsic and instrumental value. An entity has intrinsic value if it is good in itself, independent of external factors. An entity has instrumental value if it is useful as a means leading to other good things. Various debates examine whether pleasure, desire, or something else is the source of intrinsic value. Value realists state that values have objective existence. Anti-realists reject this, with some seeing values as subjective human creations and others viewing value statements as meaningless. Value theory is an interdisciplinary field and its methods range from reliance on intuitions and thought experiments to the analysis of language and surveys. Its roots lie in antiquity as reflections on the highest good that humans should pursue. (Full article...)
1870 – One of the world's earliest underground tube railways opened in the Tower Subway(interior depicted), a tunnel beneath the River Thames in London.
Lamium purpureum, commonly known as the red dead-nettle, among other names, is an annual herbaceous flowering plant. Native to Eurasia, it can also be found in North America, and frequently occurs in meadows, forest edges, roadsides and gardens. It grows with square stems to 5 to 20 centimetres (2 to 8 inches) in height, and occasionally up to 40 centimetres (16 inches). The leaves have fine hairs, are green at the bottom and shade to purplish at the top, while the zygomorphic flowers are bright reddish purple. The pollen is crimson red in colour and thus very noticeable on the heads of the bees that visit its flowers. The plant contains various oils and is characterized by its high contents of germacrene D. Young plants have edible tops and leaves, which are used in salads or stir fries as a spring vegetable. The plant has also been used for many years in folk medicine and herbal remedies. This L. purpureuminflorescence was photographed in Tutermaa, Estonia. The picture was focus-stacked from 101 separate images.
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