Does Humanity Have An Intrinsic Worth?

[Revoltingest]

"The intrinsic value of something is said to be the value that that thing has “in itself,” or “for its own sake,” or “as such,” or “in its own right.”
Source: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
​

So, what is the intrinsic value of Trichophyton verrucosum, ringworm?

"Value" is a feeling experienced by someone.
If no one is here to feel it, then there is no value.

Similar question:
If there is a great hamburger (with blue cheese, tomato & bacon
on it), is it tasty if no one exists to enjoy it?
No. "Tasty" is defined entirely by the gourmand who finds it so.

 

[ManTimeForgot]

I don't think that the relative nature of value (as predicated upon being a judgment of worth) undermines the validity of the question.

Surely ringworm must have intrinsic value to ringworms? If the only arbiter of value is the species in question, then their value is as the value of the species to itself (which is probably maximal). The ringworms might not appreciate their value, but whether or not they appreciate the value is I think a separate issue from whether or not the value actually exists.

This is why I assumed that the underlying abstraction involved in this debate was more concerned with generative nature of value than the relativity. Does a meaningful distinction exist between the quality of tenderness in a burger and the quality of tastiness in a burger ? It seems to me that tenderness exists simply by virtue of the object in question being real, whereas the latter requires an observer.


Also: Cheddar > Blue Cheese for burgers.

MTF

 

[Revoltingest]

Also: Cheddar > Blue Cheese for burgers.

Yer daft, Man!
Blue cheese rules....cheddar drools!

 

[Timidly -Truthful-Seeker]

Skwim, I'm glad to see a thread with your name in it. I am also, very thankful for the definition of intrinsic that you posted. That being said, how can we prove the value of human life? To me, we ought look further into the creation of culture. It is an awesome thing to me that we could, through culture - examine culture(s) which could be responsible for the elimination of our culture.

 

[Timidly -Truthful-Seeker]

I suppose, what I mean to say is an objects intrinsic worth is reflected in it's extrinsic effect. For instance, say I observe a rock and ask: what is the worth of that rock? It will require me to examine to rock, to weigh it, to note its color . Maybe I will even take and throw it into a nearby lake. To clarify my initial post, we humans are able to do this same sort of analysis through culture, specifically the arts.

 

[InformedIgnorance]

I am not sure what it means for something to have intrinsic worth; that said, I recognise that humanity or some portion of it has the potential to act in such a way as to better (or worsen) the experience of any entity capable of having experiences, and indeed to potentially initiate that capability.

Despite humanity's inclinations to act in a self serving fashion and thus to act in such a way as to enhance their own experiences even were it to detract from the experiences (or potential experiences) of other entities, the balance would appear to favor the human capacity to facilitate beneficial experience and suggest that it is worth the attempt to preserve humans. Moreover I would suggest that the entirely unpleasant experience of the self could reasonably be considered a wholly acceptable self determined sacrifice for that preservation.

Also while I would doubtless be terrified... I am not sure I could live with myself were I in a position to do something about such a tragedy and yet fail to try to mitigate the impact.

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

I honestly do not know and cannot say. I only know I have 'intrinsic worth' and I am human...

Often, I get ignored/overlooked by others...'oh sorry we didn't invite you to our party'....'sorry you have been passed up for promotion'...'we'd rather be alone right now, so kindly leave'....'haven't you got anything better to do?' etc

At first, I start cursing them all mentally..."I hope it rains on your party, nobody comes and/or you all get poisoning from the salmon dip"..."I hope your company crashes, shares go through the floor and you find yourself in bankrupt court"..."I hope you get so bored and depressed, you'll come begging me for help..."

Yeah, the more I cursed others, the more the same curses just kept backfiring on me...

So I took a different approach..."you know what? I am just too good for the likes of you all"..."you all don't even deserve me/to be in my presence"...."your loss"...."I am just way better than you are"....

After countless times one gets ignored and countless times one says this, they honestly start believing it...even I believe it now..I am just too good for most people and they don't have what it takes to be on 'my level'. Arrogant and selfish? yup. It also happens to be honest.

So now, I have 'exclusive parties' and I invite nobody. I have learned how to make/create my own fun and amusement independent of people and I have had to do that to survive.

Humans have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with me and vice versa.

So, do I think there's any merit in humanity? WTF is humanity?

 

[The Sum of Awe]

If it comes to such an event, it'd be pretty hopeless to even try. If it had some chance I would, depending on how much needs to be done. If there is an extreme complication in doing so, I wouldn't say it's worth trying.

Another side to me says, even if it didn't require much work, it would take ages to get humanity back up and running, especially to the point where we are at. It would be meaningless in that case, not worth the work.

My perspective on the value of this would be similar to that of a broken computer. So much wrong with it that would take an entire year just to fix it and another to reprogram everything, and only inexperienced people are in the area to fix it (equivalent of only a handful of survivors in an apocalypse), then might as well throw it out.

If there is an easy chance for both (to save humanity and recreate society back to our modern point in just a few years) then I would be for it, but would not risk my own life for such a thing, I might be a fan of Jesus, but I'm definitely not inspired to be like him.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

I have to agree with Kilgore and Sprinkles. Saving oneself is pretty pointless without saving others as well.

Not entirely.

Although they aren't as great, imaginary friends would be there for socializing, or perhaps you could find a surviving, tame animal to spend time with, maybe multiple.

Entertainment, which I see as a sole reason for us to live (for the greater majority of us), is endless now, scoping out movies, books, music, etc. for free now. While electricity will not be in existence anymore, generated power works just as well. There are more things to shoot for people into that sport, or for people who like to role play, it's very possible (especially if you decide what your imaginary friends do in part of this). Pyromaniacs have endless things to burn, perverts a lot of free porn, food junkies have grocery store amounts of food, druggies have thousands of chemicals to steal from hospitals or can find or farm a psychedelic plant in their own front yard, etc.

We are indeed social animals, it's almost a necessity for us to have real friends, but it is in fact not a full necessity more like an addiction. Many people may be driven mad by this, but what does it matter after the apocalypse? Preventing yourself from losing it entirely can be highly encouraged by psychology or philosophy which will not surround you as much as other things, but it's still out there, not only is it out there, it's in you.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I'd like to think that humanity has intrinsic worth. A lot of the time, that's really hard to believe and I wouldn't mind if humans were wiped out. What a sick species we are.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

What a sick species we are.

In such a scenario as Skwim mentioned, everybody can no longer say otherwise

 

[Caladan]

So, if some kind of disaster, such as a virus, was on the verge of wiping out humanity, would you see some compelling reason to save humanity, or simply concentrate on your own welfare until the element took your life, taking a qui sera sera attitude?

If I have a way of helping the cause I obviously would. Because in this scenario philosophizing whether humanity has any intrinsic worth while millions die around the world is sociopathic. We are human beings, of course we value other human beings, even if they live in the other side of the world.
If nature does not see any intrinsic value to humanity, this is only something we can only ponder about in philosophical, biological or theological discussions not because we actually have any way to objectively grasp it.
Also, living aside humanity as a whole, not fighting to safe guard your own life and that of your loved ones or even immediate environment doesn't exemplify any enlightened comprehension of the place of humanity in the world, it simply derives from unnatural state of mind. Perhaps psychological defeat and numbness as a result of the suffering from such a doom's day scenario.