1. Sungsang Value
Value is that quality in an object that satisfies the desire of the subject. As desires of a dual being of Sungsang and Hyungsang, human desires can be divided into Sungsang desire and Hyungsang desire; as a consequence, there exist also Sungsang value and Hyungsang value. Sungsang value is a spiritual value which satisfies the Sungsang desire: it consists of truth, goodness, beauty, and love. To be precise, love is the basis for the values of truth, goodness, and beauty. Truth, beauty, and goodness are the values corresponding to the three faculties of the mind, namely, intellect, emotion and will. That is to say, when the subject appraises an element of the object as being valuable, the subject appraises it as truth, beauty, or goodness, according to the faculties of intellect, emotion, or will, respectively.
2. Hyungsang Value
Hyungsang value, which satisfies the Hyungsang desire, includes those material values (commodity values) of daily necessities, such as food, clothing, and shelter. Material value is the value necessary for maintaining physical life, or that value which satisfies the desire of the physical mind. Physical life is the condition for the growth of the spirit self and for the fulfillment of the three great blessings; thus Hyungsang value is a prerequisite for the realization of Sungsang value.
Love is the basis for the values of truth, goodness and beauty. Let me explain this in more detail. The more a subject loves an object, and the more the object loves the subject, the truer, the better, and more beautiful the object comes to appear to the subject. For example, the more parents love their children and the more children love their parents, the more beautiful the children will appear. When children look more beautiful, the parents will feel like loving them even more. The same thing can be said of truth and goodness. The more parents love their children and the more children love their parents, the truer and the better children will appear. In this way, truth, goodness and beauty come into being on the foundation of love. Of course, there are many cases wherein truth, goodness and beauty can be felt without love. Strictly speaking, however, in such cases the subject unconsciously has love within his or her subconsciousness.
In this way, love is truly the source and foundation of value. Without love, true value will not appear. Accordingly, the more we experience the Heart of God and lead a life of love, the more we will experience and actualize brilliant value. As mentioned already, value consists of Sungsang values and Hyungsang values. Unification Axiology deals primarily with Sungsang values.