The Research Council for Values and Philosophy

The goals of the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (RVP) is (1) to understand and appreciate one's own culture and the values that shape aspirations and motivate actions; (2) to understand other cultures and to develop a positive yet critical appreciation thereof; and (3) to build cooperation among peoples by healing deep tensions and promoting peace and cooperation on a global scale. In so doing the Council is (1) to identify areas related to values and social life which are in need of research, (2) to bring together the professional competencies in philosophy and related human sciences needed for this research, and (3) to publish the resulting studies in order to respond to the new awareness of the cultural grounds of human life and the newly global character of their interaction.

It does this through local research teams in all parts of the globe (1) to mobilize related scholars to study the nature, interpretation and development of cultures and to apply them to the challenges of contemporary change; (2) to publish and distribute the results of these efforts (more than 300 volumes thusfar); and (3) to organize extended annual seminars (5-10 weeks) for deeper exploration of these issues and regional conferences for the coordination of this work.

The Council is constituted of prominent philosophers and social scientists from the many countries across the world. It was formally organized and incorporated in the District of Columbia in 1983 with 501 C3 status.