For example, let’s suppose that you are a former smoker, and hardly a day goes by that you don’t crave a cigarette.
Now suppose that you know for sure you will be executed at dawn tomorrow, and are offered a few packs to help calm your nerves.
Would you accept them?
It seems to me that if one has made the conscious decision to quit smoking, there is inherent value in refraining, even if there will be no adverse health consequences.
But I could be convinced otherwise . . . .
I do not personally feel there is inherent value in anything, be that human life, life, money, shovels, dirt, or acts of will.
Though I am not certain how to develop such a thought from scratch, some reflection on market interaction serves as an interesting lesson in value; one must always post-fix the following question for completeness in regards to value: to whom?
But could something have inherent value to me? I think so, yes indeed. My life, for example, has value to me because I want to live. My car has value to me because I want to drive.
My decision (in this hypothetical) to quit smoking had value on the supposition, I presume, of health-benefits. Since that precondition to my not-smoking has vanished in the face of a firing squad or other eecution method, the value of not-smoking has vanished. What do you think?
Erm, a little disjointed in my last post… after rereading it I suppose I pretty much mangled the idea of “inherent” value. My answer is “no,” and strike the word “inherent” form any affirmative phrase in my last post.
Nothing has inherent value because all value must be in reference to the thing valuating it. Value, as such, does not exist, so nothing can “have” it; rather, it is a trait we “make up” to suit ourselves.
Please refer to the above paragraph and, in fact, ignore my previous post entirely.
One of the most interesting thoughts on value (inherent or otherwise) is laid out in the masterpiece “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintanence”.
Very briefly it says:
Value is not a property of an object or action. Value is the interaction between an item and the beholder. Value only exists in its relation to the sentient mind that is considering an item.
no
If by accepting the cigarettes and breaking your promise to quit, would you die with a negative opinion of yourself (on that basis alone)?
If so, it’s probably a bad idea to accept.
But then, other parts of your belief structure would come into play. If you’re a strict materialist and have no expectation of an afterlife, then your self-opinion has no meaning after you die, so why not accept the cigarettes? Any self-recriminations won’t trouble you for long.
But if you believe in an afterlife, and that your fate in that afterlife depends on your behavior in this life, then you’d better abstain. Not only will you die feeling bad about yourself, but that feeling might persist for eternity; and the act of breaking that vow may have implications for your ultimate fate.
Bottom line: the answer depends on your values and beliefs.
Well, perhaps there is value in a life well-lived, even in the absence of an afterlife.
For example, let’s suppose you’re trapped in a building with no hope of survival. An attractive co-worker is right next to you, and you’d really like to pinch her rear. You both will die in a minute or two, and nobody will ever know . . .