Intrinsic Value

 Something valued for it own sake.

 A non-relational characteristic of an
object.
The following commitments about morality
seem to require intrinsic values:
A. We should help people even if
we expect no benefit in return
 A person can reward and punish people
to give incentives for moral behavior,
but that suggests that we should only
help others because some benefit is
expected in return.
B. We should try to care for
people even if we currently don’t
  If people or their experiences have
intrinsic value, then we have a good
reason to want to care for other
people.
C. Morality is seen
as rationally “action-guiding.”
 We ought to help people and we ought not
hurt them.
D. Morality is seen
as rationally important
 If intrinsic values exist, then morality is
rationally important insofar as it
encourages us to promote intrinsic
values, which really matter.
E. Morality is seen as categorical in the
sense that morality applies to everyone

 Our actions will cause intrinsic benefit or

harm whether or not we commit
ourselves to moral standards.
F. We realize that it is important
to protect and help everyone
  It makes perfect sense to save them all
from genocide no matter what country
they are from
G.We accept that morality is
overriding
 If we desire money more than we desire
to be moral, then it might make perfect
sense to steal from people.
Uncontroversial moral truths include the following:

 It is often wrong to kill people.

 It is often wrong to steal from people.
 It is often wrong to do bodily damage to other people.
 It is often good to save people’s lives .
 It is often good to help educate people.
 It is often good to help people be happy.
Intrinsic values make sense of certain
emotions.
Love

 When we love someone we are often willing to harm

ourselves to protect that person. We think the person
we love has value beyond our own desires. We don’t
just hope that the person we love gives us various
benefits. We want the person we love to live a good life
even at our own expense. If people or their experiences
can be intrinsically good, then it makes sense that we
love them. It makes sense to be willing to make
sacrifices when we know those who will benefit from
our sacrifices have value and are worthy of our love.
Joy

  To create someone good for its sake, in our own.

Grief 

 When someone dies it can make us quite sad,

even if we didn’t have a strong personal
relationship with that person. This makes
sense if that person’s existence is taken to be
good just for existing, and the death of the
person is a loss of something “good in itself.”
“Intrinsic values make sense of right
and wrong.”
“If anything has intrinsic value, then “moral realism” is true, which is
the view that morality has some sort of relation to reality itself.
Morality is not merely a human invention, and morality is not merely
about accomplishing goals.”