Social values as a subject of philosophical reflection

Abstract

In the contemporary world, social values are gaining particular significance, as globalization, digitalization, and socio-political crises reshape their hierarchy and mechanisms of legitimation. The reassessment of traditional reference points requires a comprehensive philosophical understanding of this phenomenon. Purpose. The aim of the article is a theoretical-philosophical reconstruction of leading approaches to the understanding of social values and the justification of an integrative analytical model for their study, which accounts for contemporary socio-cultural and political transformations, globalization, digitalization, and changes in the axionormative parameters of social reality. Methods. The research was conducted using methods of philosophical analysis, comparative axiology, hermeneutics, and critical and discursive analysis. A review of classical and contemporary Western and Ukrainian concepts of social values was carried out, highlighting the methodological advantages and limitations of each approach. Results. The multidimensional nature of social values is theoretically substantiated, understanding them as a phenomenon that integrates normative principles, social practices, communicative processes, and cultural-symbolic structures. It is shown that globalization, digital, and crisis transformations influence the hierarchy of values, mechanisms of their legitimation, and the manifestation of conflict within axiological processes. Methodological discrepancies in philosophical interpretations of social values are analyzed, particularly the tension between normative-ontological, functionalist, and cultural-interpretative models, which limits reductionist approaches. An integrative model for studying social values is proposed, combining normative-axiological, socio-practical, communicative-discursive, and cultural-symbolic dimensions, allowing values to be considered simultaneously as a factor of social stability and a resource for social change. Conclusions. The use of the integrative model expands the methodological possibilities for analyzing social values in the contemporary socio-cultural and political context. It provides a comprehensive understanding of the processes of meaning-making and the regulatory role of values in society, opening perspectives for developing theoretically grounded strategies for shaping value orientations. Scientific novelty. For the first time, an integrative analytical model of social values is proposed, simultaneously considering normative, socio-practical, communicative-discursive, and cultural-symbolic dimensions of their functioning. The model enables the integration of traditional normative approaches with the analysis of real social practices, conflicts, and transformations of values, thereby expanding the theoretical and methodological field of contemporary research in social philosophy.