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Instrumental and intrinsic value questions

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Instrumental and intrinsic value questions

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Instrumental and intrinsic value are the distinction between what is a means to an end and what is as an end in itself. Things are deemed to have instrumental value (or extrinsic value) if they help one achieve a particular end; intrinsic values, by contrast, are understood to be desirable in and of themselves.

What makes something intrinsically valuable versus instrumentally valuable?
Can you think of examples that are purely one or the other?
How do we determine whether something has intrinsic value?
Is it based on intuition, reason, emotion, cultural influence, or something else?
Does putting a price on something change its value status?
How do different cultures or philosophical traditions approach the concept of intrinsic value differently?
If you could preserve only three things that have intrinsic value for future generations, what would they be?
Is happiness intrinsically valuable, or is it valuable because of what it leads to or signifies?
Can we meaningfully rank or compare different intrinsic values, or are they incommensurable?
Do values exist objectively in the world, or are they purely subjective human constructs?

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