Leroy Tyree

Leroy Tyree

Ethics-pg.77

Life is “the form of existence that all people, animals, plants, and all living organism have and that rocks, dirt, and metal lack.” What all living organisms have in common is that they are alive; with each day there is an opportunity to change. However, a unique feature of human lives is the ability to determine ones life beyond primitive need and will. We each have the ability to be wholly irrational and seek pleasure for pleasures sake. We seek happiness in unnatural, and this confuses us to what is of true value. Is it the “things” that we can buy or the unlimited possibilities that life may bring? I believe that life, in its immeasurable opportunities is, in itself, of intrinsic value.

However, the further our society moves away from nature the more we begin to value things outside ourselves, and the cycle of life (other people, beings, etc). Then, goods become essential to our quality of life because more value is place on them, and a person’s values can determine what they value in life. For example, if a person believes that being a NBA superstar will provide the best quality of life, he would interpret that as being an intrinsic value. Thus, he would value practicing, exercising, and maintaining his grades