Navigating sustainable futures: The role of terminal and instrumental values

Abstract

Values have been discussed both in relation to the normative character of Ecological Economics and, albeit implicitly, in conceptions of human beings. Nevertheless, a conceptualisation of individually-held values remains underdeveloped. Scholars who do engage on a conceptual level tend to focus on the values of nature in the context of ecosystem services, with less emphasis on: (a) more generally-held values, (b) the psychological mechanisms for value formation and (c) how this understanding can be leveraged to achieve a sustainable future. In this paper, we revisit Milton Rokeach's concept of instrumental and terminal values, and draw upon it to stress the importance of both desirable end states and the means to achieve the goals endorsed by Ecological Economics. Considering these concepts with respect to the emerging literature on inner transformations for sustainability, we adopt a deliberative inside-out perspective on value change. Our conceptualisation of human values and value change provides scholars with new tools to understand and study different dimensions that help to engage with the transformation towards sustainability from a human level, behavioural perspective.