An Intrinsic Value Of Mine - 1364 Words

Chapter One: Name two things in your life that you consider intrinsically valuable. Name three things that are instrumentally valuable. In my life I consider happiness and kindness intrinsically valuable. For something to be intrinsically valuable it is said that, that something must be â€Å"valuable because they are what they are, without being a means to something else† (Vaughn 6). I find kindness to be an intrinsic value of mine because I believe that being kind to others is something that you should always do and a value that should be universally shared, not because I myself or anyone on the receiving end will benefit from the kindness. Happiness is also an intrinsic value of mine, this is not because being happy will lead to anything†¦show more content†¦Lastly, my cellphone is instrumentally valuable to me because not only is it just a chunk of metal, but because my cellphone gives me the ability to get in contact with the people that I need to communicate with through texting and calling, I can use my cell phone to search the internet, if I need a calculator it’s right there, etc. All of the people and things that I find instrumentally valuable are more valuable to me and my life because they are a means to something else (Vaughn 6). Chapter Two: Suppose a serial killer approves of his murderous actions. According to subjective relativism are the killer’s actions therefore justified? Do you believe a serial killer’s murders are justified? If not, is your judgment based on a subjective relativist’s perspective or an objectivist perspective? According to subjective relativism, an action is thought to be morally right if one approves of it (Vaughn 22). Therefore, when the serial killer says that he himself approves of his actions while others may not, his claim of approval justifies his murders. When applying subjective relativism to the situation, the actions of the serial killer are not considered to be morally wrong (Vaughn 22). My personal opinion on this case is I do not believe that a serial killer can justify his own murders just because he simply says and believes that his murderous actions are not