Abstract
Values do not constitute a major focus of inquiry in contemporary sociology in spite of the fact that values are generally considered to be an important part of the subject matter. It is the thesis of this paper that values can be productively studied as individual and social value orientations. The fundamental problems that will be touched upon with respect to individual value orientations are how these orientations are internalized and integrated within individual consciousness. The problems with respect to society relate to the factors of diversification of consciousness and the degree of integration of value orientations within modern society. It will be argued that pluralization of orientations results mainly from the diversification of religion and ideology, occupational consciousness, and modern culture. With respect to individual consciousness it will be argued that it is neither directly determined by social consciousness nor totally constructed at will. The focus on values in the approach adopted here implies a focus on individual biographies, socio-cultural reality, and the relationship between both entities.
