The question of the place of values in the world of existence requires the determination of the place of man in the natural world. This question has received conflicting answers in the philosophical literature. The term "value" has been defined narrowly and broadly; and the nature of man has been accepted in traditional forms or on the basis of scientific knowledge and explanation. The overextension of the concept of value, to make it apply to all existence as a general ontological principle, has been prominent.