The unique human susceptibility to malfunction—i. e., to cognitive errors leading to actions destructive to one's life—gives rise to the ambiguity in the definition of "value" posed at the beginning of this section. We can now remove that ambiguity by defining two primary kinds of "values":
- Objective values are those entities or conditions that one must seek in order to maintain or enhance one's life. These values are sought by a well-functioning individual and are consistent with the implicit overall goal of an individual's life activity.
- Subjective values are those entities or conditions that humans seek by their specific actions. Although subjective values were not explicitly recognized by Ayn Rand (
), human beings sometimes act to obtain things and ends that are destructive to their lives. A full awareness of reality requires that we seek to understand why and how people act, even when such actions are injurious to their objective values.
By definition, individuals always act to gain and/or keep their subjective values; however, they may or may not pursue their objective values. The terms "objective value" and "subjective value" both designate objective, reality-based, cognitively essential concepts. 
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