This discussion asserts that the legitimate way to address the topic of value judgments in literature is to interpret the question as whether there are distinctively "literary" values and whether judgments can or should be made about literature on these grounds. Characteristic values appropriate to literature exist, just as moral values are apparent in the realm of behavior; judgments not only can, but should, be made about literature on the basis of these objective literary values. Although the definition of literature itself may be elusive, two general types may be differentiated: literature in the broad sense, including virtually any piece of writing (such as political tracts, scholarly treatises, philosophical works, and so on), and literature in the strict sense, restricted to expression that reveals the aspects of beauty appropriate to written material--language, style, form, and meaning--and maintains a certain independence from temporal concerns (such as novels, poetry, plays, essays, and some expository writing). Some implications for the classroom and for curriculum planning are noted. (KS)