In
ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
, intrinsic value is a
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
of anything that is
valuable on its own. Intrinsic value is in contrast to
instrumental value (also known as extrinsic value), which is a property of anything that derives its value from a relation to another intrinsically valuable thing. Intrinsic value is always something that an
object
Object may refer to:
General meanings
* Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept
** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place
** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter
* Goal, an ...
has "in itself" or "for its own sake", and is an
intrinsic property. An object with intrinsic value may be regarded as an end, or in
Kantian terminology, as an end-in-itself.
The term "intrinsic value" is used in
axiology
Axiology (from Greek , ''axia'': "value, worth"; and , '' -logia'': "study of") is the philosophical study of value. It includes questions about the nature and classification of values and about what kinds of things have value. It is intimately ...
, a branch of
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
that studies value (including both ethics and
aesthetics
Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...
). All major
normative ethical theories identify something as being intrinsically valuable. For instance, for a
virtue ethicist,
eudaimonia
Eudaimonia ( Greek: εὐδαιμονία ; sometimes anglicized as eudaemonia or eudemonia, ) is a Greek word literally translating to the state or condition of 'good spirit', and which is commonly translated as 'happiness' or 'welfare'.
In w ...
(human flourishing, sometimes translated as "happiness") has intrinsic value, whereas things that bring you happiness (such as having a family) may be merely instrumentally valuable. Similarly,
consequentialist
In ethical philosophy, consequentialism is a class of normative, teleological ethical theories that holds that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. Thus, from ...
s may identify pleasure, the lack of pain, and/or the fulfillment of one's preferences as having intrinsic value, making actions that produce them merely instrumentally valuable. On the other hand, proponents of
deontological ethics argue that morally right actions (those that respect moral
duty to others) are always intrinsically valuable, regardless of their consequences.
Other names for intrinsic value are terminal value, essential value, principle value, or ultimate importance.
An 'end'
In philosophy and ethics, an ''end'', or ''
telos
Telos (; ) is a term used by philosopher Aristotle to refer to the final cause of a natural organ or entity, or of a work of human art. Intentional actualization of potential or inherent purpose,"Telos.''Philosophy Terms'' Retrieved 3 May 2020. ...
'', is the ultimate goal in a series of steps. For example, according to
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...
the end of everything we do is happiness. It is contrasted to a
means, which is something that helps you achieve that goal. For example, money or power may be said to be a means to the end of happiness. Nevertheless, some objects may be ends and means at the same time.
''End'' is roughly similar, and often used as a synonym, for the following concepts:
* ''Purpose'' or ''aim'': in its most general sense the anticipated result that guides
action.
*''
Goal'' or ''objective'' consists of a projected state of affairs a
person
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...
or a
system
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and express ...
plans or intends to achieve or bring about.
Life stances and intrinsic value
This table attempts to summarize the main intrinsic value of different
life stances and other views, although there may be great diversity within them:
Quantity
There may be zero, one, or several things in the world with intrinsic value.
Intrinsic nihilism, or simply nihilism (from Latin ''
nihil'', 'nothing') holds that there are zero quantities with intrinsic value.
Intrinsic aliquidism
Intrinsic aliquidism, or simply aliquidism (from Latin ''aliquid'', 'something') holds that there is one or more. This may be of several quantities, ranging from one single to all possible.
*Intrinsic monism (from Greek ''monos'', 'single') holds that there is one thing with intrinsic value. This view may hold only life stances that accept this object as intrinsically valuable.
*Intrinsic multism (from Latin ''multus'', 'many') holds that there are many things with intrinsic value. In other words, this view may hold the instrinsic values of several life stances as intrinsically valuable.
*Intrinsic panism (from Greek ''pan'', 'everything') holds that everything has an intrinsic value.
Among followers of aliquidistic life stances regarding more than one thing as having intrinsic value, these may be regarded as equally intrinsically valuable or unequally so. However, in practice, they may in any case be unequally valued because of their
instrumental values resulting in unequal
whole values.
Intrinsic multism
This view may hold the intrinsic values of several life stances as intrinsically valuable. Note the difference between this and regarding several intrinsic values as more or less
instrumentally valuable, since intrinsic monistic views also may hold other intrinsic values than their own chosen one as valuable, but then only to the degree other intrinsic values contribute indirectly to their own chosen intrinsic value.
The most simple form of intrinsic multism is intrinsic bi-ism (from Latin ''two''), which holds two objects as having intrinsic value, such as
happiness
Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia.
...
and
virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is morality, moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is Value (ethics), valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that sh ...
.
Humanism
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "human ...
is an example of a
life stance that accepts that several things have intrinsic value.
Multism may not necessarily include the feature of intrinsic values to have a negative side—e.g., the feature of
utilitarianism
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different chara ...
to accept both pain and pleasure as of intrinsic value, since they may be viewed as different sides of the same coin.
Unspecified aliquidism
''Ietsism'' (
Dutch: ''ietsisme'', 'somethingism') is a term used for a range of beliefs held by people who, on the one hand, inwardly suspect—or indeed believe—that there is “more between Heaven and Earth” than we know about, but on the other hand do not accept or subscribe to the established
belief system,
dogma
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...
or view of the nature of
God offered by any particular religion.
In this sense, it may roughly be regarded as aliquidism, without further specification. For instance, most life stances include the acceptance of "there is something, some meaning of life, something that is an end-in-itself or something more to existence, and it is," assuming various objects or "truths," while ietsism, on the other hand, accepts "there is something," without further assumption to it.
Total intrinsic value
The
total intrinsic value of an object is the
product of its
average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
intrinsic value,
average value intensity, and
value duration. It may be either an
absolute or relative value. The total intrinsic value and
total instrumental value together make the
total whole value of an object.
Concrete and abstract
The object with intrinsic value, the ''end'', may be both a
concrete object or an
abstract object
In metaphysics, the distinction between abstract and concrete refers to a divide between two types of entities. Many philosophers hold that this difference has fundamental metaphysical significance. Examples of concrete objects include plants, h ...
.
Concrete
In the case where concrete objects are accepted as ''ends'', they may be either single
particulars or generalized to all particulars of one or more
universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a t ...
s. However, the majority of
life stances choose all particulars of
universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a t ...
s as ''end''s. For instance,
Humanism
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "human ...
doesn't assume individual humans as ''ends'' but rather all humans of
humanity
Humanity most commonly refers to:
* Humankind the total population of humans
* Humanity (virtue)
Humanity may also refer to:
Literature
* ''Humanity'' (journal), an academic journal that focuses on human rights
* ''Humanity: A Moral History of t ...
.
Continuum
When generalizing multiple particulars of a single universal it may not be certain whether the ''end'' is actually the individual particulars or the rather abstract universal. In such cases, a life stance may rather be a
continuum between having a concrete and abstract ''end''.
This may render life stances of being both intrinsic multistic and intrinsic monistic at the same time. Such a ''quantity contradiction'', however, may be of only minor practic significance, since splitting an ''end'' into many ''ends'' decreases the
whole value but increases the
value intensity.
Types of intrinsic value
Absolute and relative
There may be a distinction between
absolute and relative ethic value regarding intrinsic value.
Relative intrinsic value is subjective, depending on individual and cultural views and/or the individual choice of life stance. Absolute intrinsic value, on the other hand, is
philosophically absolute and independent of individual and cultural views, as well as independent on whether it discovered or not what object has it.
There is an ongoing discussion on whether an absolute intrinsic value exists at all, for instance in
pragmatism. In pragmatism,
John Dewey's
[''Theory of Valuation'' by John Dewey] empirical approach did not accept intrinsic value as an inherent or enduring property of things. He saw it as an illusory product of our continuous
ethic valuing activity as purposive beings. When held across only some contexts, Dewey held that goods are only intrinsic relative to a situation. In other words, he only believed in relative intrinsic value, but not any absolute intrinsic value. He held that across all contexts, goodness is best understood as instrumental value, with no contrasting intrinsic goodness. In other words, Dewey claimed that anything can only be of intrinsic value if it is a contributory good.
Positive and negative
There may be both
positive and negative value regarding intrinsic value, wherein something of positive intrinsic value is pursued or maximized, while something of negative intrinsic value is avoided or minimized. For instance, in
utilitarianism
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different chara ...
,
pleasure
Pleasure refers to experience that feels good, that involves the enjoyment of something. It contrasts with pain or suffering, which are forms of feeling bad. It is closely related to value, desire and action: humans and other conscious animals ...
has positive intrinsic value and
suffering
Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness or aversion, possibly associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of a ...
has negative intrinsic value.
Similar concepts
''Intrinsic value'' is mainly used in ethics, but the concept is also used in philosophy, with terms that essentially may refer to the same concept.
*As "ultimate importance" it is what a sentient being relates to in order to constitute a
life stance.
*It is synonymous with the
meaning of life
The meaning of life, or the answer to the question: "What is the meaning of life?", pertains to the significance of living or existence in general. Many other related questions include: "Why are we here?", "What is life all about?", or "Wha ...
, as this may be expressed as what is meaningful or valuable
in life. However, ''meaning of life'' is more vague, with other uses as well.
*''
Summum bonum'' is basically its equivalent in
medieval philosophy.
*The
relative intrinsic value is roughly synonymous with the
ethic ideal.
*
Inherent value may be regarded as a
first grade instrumental value when personal experience is the intrinsic value.
See also
*
Animal ethics
Animal ethics is a branch of ethics which examines human-animal relationships, the moral consideration of animals and how nonhuman animals ought to be treated. The subject matter includes animal rights, animal welfare, animal law, speciesism, ...
*
Autotelic
*
Extrinsic value (ethics)
*
Ophelimity
*
Value system
*
Value theory
In ethics and the social sciences, value theory involves various approaches that examine how, why, and to what degree humans value things and whether the object or subject of valuing is a person, idea, object, or anything else. Within philosophy, ...
References
External links
*
Discussion of different types of values!-- Broken 2012-02-23 -->
{{DEFAULTSORT:Intrinsic Value (Ethics)
Concepts in ethics
Axiological theories
Value (ethics)