Means and Ends

Abstract

People often confuse instrumental and terminal values. Instrumental values are desired as means to other ends, while terminal values are desired for their own sake. It is possible to mistake an instrumental value for a terminal one if it reliably correlates with a terminal value in typical circumstances. Thought experiments help clarify this distinction by isolating variables. For instance, medicine is instrumentally valuable for health, and biodiversity might be instrumentally valuable for human interests, ecosystem stability, scientific knowledge, or well-being. A thought experiment involving a rare, inconsequential rodent species can isolate the value of biodiversity. Pain, though sometimes beneficial, is always bad in itself. Multiple terminal values necessitate trade-offs. While knowledge is generally considered good, its value becomes questionable if it does not contribute to happiness or satisfy any interests. In practice, ends and means are often intertwined, and focusing on a measurable instrumental value can sometimes be a useful heuristic for achieving a hard-to-measure terminal value. However, this approach should be abandoned if the correlation breaks down. Recognizing the distinction between instrumental and terminal values leads to better planning and goal achievement. – AI-generated abstract.