The Good Life

Value theory is that part of moral philosophy that focuses on questions about what is intrinsically valuable (good in and of itself). What is intrinsically valuable is worth pursuing for its own sake, and a good human life will contain much that meets this description. Happiness is on almost everyone’s list—the real question is whether happiness is the only thing that is desirable for its own sake or whether there are other things that belong on the roster of essential elements of a good human life. Another important view claims that our lives are good to the extent that we get what we want—whatever we may want. Yet other accounts offer a variety of intrinsic goods rather than just one or two. There are readings here from each of these major theories of value.

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