Value-neutral is a related adjective suggesting independence from a value system. The object itself might be considered value-neutral being neither good nor bad, neither useful nor useless, neither significant nor trite, until placed in some social context. For example, the classification of an object sometimes depends upon context: Is an object a tool or a weapon, is a human remain an artifact or an ancestor?
A famous quote from mathematician G.H. Hardy indicates how he places the "value-neutral" subject of mathematics into a particular social context:
A science is said to be useful if its development tends to accentuate the existing inequalities of wealth, or more directly promotes the destruction of human life.
— Godfrey Harold Hardy in A Mathematician's Apology (1941)
For a discussion of whether technology is value neutral, see Martin and Schinzinger, and Wallace.
An item may have value and be value-neutral regardless of social context if its utility or importance is more-or-less self-evident, for example, oxygen supports life in all societies.
Read more about this topic: Judgemental, Explanation