Value vs Utility – Should human life be valued intrinsically, or in terms of utility?

🏛 1. What is Value?

• Market value = What others are willing to trade for something (e.g. price, money).

• Intrinsic value = Value that exists regardless of use or trade.

• Several argued that intrinsic value doesn't exist — all value is subjective and assigned by individuals or society.

• Intrinsic value as the foundation of all value systems, rooted in biology and homeostatic systems.

💵 2. Human Life as Utility

• Some argued life can be measured by productivity (what you contribute vs. consume).

• Capitalist view: A person's worth = value they bring to the economy.

• Others challenged this by asking: What about criminals or those who gain wealth through fraud?

⚖️ 3. Uniqueness & Incomparability

• Counterview: Human beings are incomparable and cannot be valued like goods or services.

• Each person is unique, irreplaceable, and not exchangeable.

• Trying to assign value to life is misleading or dangerous.

🧪 4. Biological & Evolutionary Perspective

• Life "wants to live": Organisms evolve to preserve themselves — creating a kind of goal-oriented behavior.

• This leads to systems behaving as if they value survival — the birthplace of all value.

• Markets and society are built upon these deeper biological drives.

🧍‍♂️ 5. Subjectivity of Value

• Value is contextual: A child may have infinite value to a parent or a doctor mid-surgery, but this doesn't apply universally.

• Example: In a burning building or drowning scenario, who gets saved? People instinctively prioritize children, those they love, or who are socially respected (doctor vs. criminal).

🌍 6. Social Constructs and Collective Agreement

• Many said society collectively decides what has value (e.g. forests, climate, life).

• Legal systems, ethics, and money are tools we created to enforce shared values.

• We measure value through these systems, not necessarily because value exists independently.

💬 7. Selfishness as a Basis

• Repeated theme: Humans act out of self-interest, including acts of kindness.

• Even helping others often makes us feel better, so value is internally motivated.

📲 8. Modern Context – Influence & Visibility

• Today, visibility = value. If people don't know you, you don't "exist" to them.

• Influencers are valued not for intrinsic worth, but for perceived utility to others.

🧩 CONCLUSION:

• No consensus was reached — but several tensions emerged:

  • Objective vs. subjective value

  • Moral vs. economic systems

  • Individual instinct vs. social constructs

• Most agreed: Value is complex, context-dependent, and often a mix of intrinsic tendencies + societal agreements.