Difference Between Intrinsic and Instrumental Value

The distinction between intrinsic and instrumental value is one of the most fundamental and important in moral theory. Fortunately, it is not difficult to grasp. You value many things, such as beauty, sunshine, music, money, truth, and justice. To value something is to have a positive attitude toward it and to prefer its existence or occurrence over its nonexistence or nonoccurence. You can value it as an end, as a means to some end, or both. Instrumental Value You value most things instrumentally, that is, as a means to some end. Usually, this is obvious. For instance, you value a washing machine that works—purely for its useful function, or instrumental value. If there were a very cheap cleaning service next door that picked up and dropped off your laundry, you might use it and sell your washing machine because it no longer has any instrumental value to you. One thing nearly everyone values to some extent is money. But it is usually valued purely as a means to an end. It has instrumental value: It provides security, and you can use it to purchase things you want. Detached from its purchasing power, money is just a pile of printed paper or scrap metal. Intrinsic Value There are two notions of intrinsic value. It can be: Valuable in itself  Valued by someone for its own sake If something has intrinsic value in the first sense, this means that the universe is somehow a better place for that thing existing or occurring. Utilitarian philosophers like John Stuart Mill claim that pleasure and happiness are valuable in and of themselves. A universe in which a single sentient being is experiencing pleasure is better than one in which there are no sentient beings. It is a more valuable place. Immanuel Kant holds that genuinely moral actions are intrinsically valuable. He would say that a universe in which rational beings perform good actions from a sense of duty is an inherently better place than a universe in which this doesn’t happen. The Cambridge philosopher G.E. Moore says that a world containing natural beauty is more valuable than a world without beauty, even if there is no one there to experience it. To these philosophers, these things are all valuable in and of themselves. This first notion of intrinsic value is controversial. Many philosophers would say that it makes no sense to talk about things being valuable in themselves unless they are actually valued by someone. Even pleasure or happiness are only intrinsically valuable because they are experienced by someone. Value for Its Own Sake Focusing on the second sense of intrinsic value, the question arises: What do people value for its own sake? The most obvious candidates are pleasure and happiness. People value many things—wealth, health, beauty, friends, education, employment, houses, cars, and washing machines—because they think those things will give them pleasure or make them happy. It may seemingly make sense to ask why people want them. But both Aristotle and Mill pointed out that it doesn’t make sense to ask why a person wants to be happy. Most people value not only their own happiness, they also value the happiness of other people. They are sometimes willing to sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of someone else’s. People also sacrifice themselves or their happiness for other things, such as religion, their country, justice, knowledge, truth, or art. Those are all things that convey the second characteristic of intrinsic value: They are valued by someone for their own sake.

Feminist Reading of Shakespeares The Winters Tale Essay

A Feminist Reading of The Winter’s Tale In the Shakespearean tragedies we have studied, we have been exposed to tragic male protagonists who create their own downfall. Within these tragedies, Shakespeares female characters are vested with varying degrees of power in relation to the tragic heroes. In looking back at Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, The Winters Tale can be seen as an extension of the exploration into the nature of women and power broached in his earlier tragedies, as well as an amendment for the misogynistic attitudes they contain. In our class discussions, we were vexed by a condition we found prevalent in both Othello and King Lear; both of these plays end with the deaths of two innocent women: Desdemona†¦show more content†¦Perhaps, it was Shakespeares recognition that his tragedies imposed limitations on the nature of his female characters that caused him to branch out and experiment in new forms. The Winters Tale allows for a more true-to-life exploration of its female characters because they must live in order for the drama to achieve its resolution. The emphasis, then, changes from portraying female characters as good or evil to understanding what they are about psychologically. In doing this Shakespeare revives the themes he was forced to kill off in his earlier tragedies, namely a wifes betrayal and womens relationship to power, and explores them from a perspective that is more sympathetic to women. The first three acts of The Winters Tale are reminiscent of Othello. Leontes, like Othello, falls into a jealous and groundless accusation of his innocent wife and provides the audience with the same type of misogynistic language we encounter in his earlier tragedy. In The Winters Tale, however, Hermione is publicly accused of her transgressions, giving her the opportunity to eloquently defend herself. The defiant warning that Hermione gives Leontes is indicative of the extent of the emotional damage that she is suffering and Leontes will suffer as a result of his false accusations: How this will grieve you, / When you shall come to clearer knowledge, that / You thus have published me! Gentle my lord, / You scarce can right me

Lost Minds A Study Of Alzheimers Disease Essay Example For Students

Lost Minds: A Study Of Alzheimers Disease Essay Lost Minds: A Study Of Alzheimers DiseaseLost Minds:A Study of Alzheimers DiseaseAlzheimers Disease is one of the most common diseases among elderly people today. Alzheimers creates emotional and financial catastrophe for many American families every year. It affects nearly 4 million people in the United States. Alzheimers Disease is the fourth leading cause of adult death in the United States, and nearly 90 billion dollars go towards Alzheimers research each year, most of this money is funded largely by Medicare and Medicaid, but the government funds some (Medical?). Many elderly people are thought to be crazy, people think the strain of their lives has been too much for their minds, when in fact the real problem may be a serious condition called Alzheimers. Alzheimers Disease is a degenerative brain disease. It is caused by a slow break down of the brain cells. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician, first discovered Alzheimers Disease in 1906. The first recorded case of Alzheimers Disease was a 55-year-old woman. She was admitted to the mental asylum where Alzheimer worked when she was 51 and slowly deteriorated over her 4 years there. After her death, Alzheimer performed an autopsy in which he found a small, shrunken brain. This was the start of Alzheimers research. Since its discovery, Alzheimers Disease hasnt evolved much. Its much more common now and the symptoms are slightly enhanced, but the disease is relatively the same. The number of people with Alzheimers Disease is expected to increase dramatically as the baby boomers age (Davis). Some scientists believe that Alzheimers Disease may be caused by a mutation of a gene on chromosome 14, this mutation is related to about 8% of all Alzheimers cases (Alzheimers). Alzheimers patients a lso have an excess of aluminum in their brain tissues, which is linked to the disease and they lack hootropic agents, the chemicals that protect the brain cells. The early stages of the disease are often viewed as the consequences of aging, so Alzheimers often goes unrecognized. There are several stages to Alzheimers Disease. In the early stages people forget recent events, but they clearly remember things that happened many years ago. In the later stages of the disease, people can no longer remember past events and often do not recognize their family members. Some victims do not even recognize themselves. Alzheimers victims often suffer from impaired judgement. They may touch a hot stove burner not remembering that it can burn them. There have been cases where people with Alzheimers Disease nearly starve because they forget to eat for days. When my Great Grandma, who had Alzheimers, was left alone, she would drive from her home in Meade to Hugoton or Satanta trying to find Liberal. The disease can also cause people to be very tired. Patients may also have trouble with place and time. They may not recognize their own home of many years, and they may confuse morning with afternoon. Some patients with Alzheimers Disease will revert back to an almost child-like state. Some of the victims are very angry and aggressive while others are very calm and quiet. How fast the disease advances varies from person to person. Eventually, most people with Alzheimers disease become unable to care for themselves. Alzheimers Disease is not the direct cause of the victims deaths. The disease renders the patients bedridden and in their weakened condition they catch viruses such as pneumonia. Alzheimers attacks few people after age 60, but occurs in 20% of people who live to age 85 (Gillick). Alzheimers does not occur more in men or woman, but the disease is more prone to Caucasian people. Out of all the cases of Alzheimers in the United States, about three-fourths or three million of them are white people. Scientists do not know why this is, because black peoples brain cells are the same as those of white people (Gillick). Some scientists say that Alzheimers Disease is genetic, and it may be. Scientists say that if the disease is genetic, then it only occurs in every 4th or 5th generation, but that the disease must be ?turned on? by some outside factor. Doctors cant seem to figure out what the outside factor is. Some scientists even believe that Alzheimers may be caused by an excess of estrogen in the brain (Gillick). .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c , .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c .postImageUrl , .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c , .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c:hover , .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c:visited , .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c:active { border:0!important; } .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c:active , .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u90c4d695db55dde27a603363b2fd0b1c:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The pope the jews and Hitler EssayAlzheimers Disease is considered non-reversible. Many of the symptoms can be treated, but not the actual disease. To date, no chronic degenerative disease, Alzheimers or others, can be cured. Most therapies currently being used are experimental (Medical). The drugs Tacrine and Donepezil are the only two drugs proven effective in slowing the progress of Alzheimers Disease, and even they dont have a vast effect. Selegilin, the drug used to treat Parkinsons Disease, has been shown to delay symptoms of Alzheimers by about seven months in test cases, but doctors are not sure if it is safe for people yet (Davis). Some doctors suggest for people to take one ibuprofen a day, to help lower the risk of developing Alzheimers Disease. Daily supplements of vitamin E can help too. Thanks to medical breakthroughs and healthier lifestyles, Alzheimers patients can live longer then ever. There are no screening tests for Alzheimers Disease. In fact, brain tumors, blood clots, hypothyroidism and vitamin deficiencies have all been mistaken for Alzheimers. The reason for these mix-ups is that a head scan can not show Alzheimers Disease until well in to the disease. If the tumors or clots are small enough they might not be seen either and can produce nearly the same results (Alzheimers). Alzheimers disease is a serious and growing medical, social and economic problem. It affects millions of people in the United States and millions more around the world. When we look at elderly people and cast them off as crazy or senile we should stop and consider the root of their problems. We know more about the disease now then at any other time in history. Doctors are closer to a cure then ever, but until there is a cure for Alzheimers Disease, we are all at risk. Bibliography?Alzheimers Disease.? World Book Encyclopedia. 1998 ed. Davis, Patti. ?Long Good-Bye.? Ladies Home Journal. Nov. 1997: 170-175. Gillick, Muriel R. ?Tangled Minds.? New York: Penguin Books, 1998. ?Medical Self-Care.? Retrieved 4/13/99. http://www.healthy.net/library/articles/ahper/alzheim2.htm. Medicine Essays