4/ Conclusion
If we accept that ethics and axiology are separate fields, and that seeking a foundation for morality is essentially an inquiry into determining morality’s value—which requires a thorough evaluation of what holds value and what does not—then we can discern a fundamental phenomenon: morality must ultimately be grounded in axiology.
Until axiology is established and can answer the question of what holds value, we cannot determine whether good possesses greater value than evil, whether morality itself has value, and thus cannot provide a solid foundation for morality.
Traditionally, morality has aimed to be self-sustaining, seeking to root itself in moral concepts (such as moral conscience or sentiments like sympathy, pity, etc.). Over the past century, numerous efforts have been made to ground morality in disciplines beyond these, such as sociology or psychology. As we have seen, these attempts have been unsuccessful, as they can only reveal the origin of morality, not its foundation.
From our reflections, it seems that morality ultimately rests upon axiology, implying that this ancient discipline, ethics—despite the depth of thought it has inspired—depends upon a field that, as of now, exists only in an embryonic state.
In summary, we can argue that the neglect of values has led to three main outcomes: the conflation of morality and axiology, axiology's inability to establish itself as an independent and coherent discipline, and the absence of a solid foundation for morality.
It is striking that the very discipline which morality has obscured and overlooked may, in fact, be the one that holds its foundation and the potential to fulfill its ultimate purpose.
Everything suggests that grounding morality relies entirely on the concept of value. The notion of value thus emerges as the essential concept required to undertake this foundational task in morality. What, then, does the concept of value signify, and how can it be applied to this end? What might axiology, the discipline devoted to studying value, entail? These questions will guide our next reflection.