18. Intrinsic Value
‘The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects.’
Thomas Berry
Western culture has been tracking towards the idea that value is purely subjective. Somehow, as long as there is consensus it is okay to redefine value in terms of what might serve some abstract ideal. Value therefore often ends up being commodified - in other words it is extrinsic rather than intrinsic.
We have thus far looked at compassion, freedom, equality, justice and love in the very broadest sense as ideals. All of these really have an underlying assumption. That assumption is that the subjects of our compassion and so on are worthy to receive our gift. The assumption is that others and myself have some value over and above mere usefulness. That is, people (and also animals and plants) have intrinsic value as distinct from extrinsic value or mere commodity.
You might say that this value is an assumed goodness to all of life. Along with truth and beauty, the goodness is rooted in mystery. It is beyond explanation, but it is the reason for our celebration of life. It is the motivation for our compassion. Compassion in turn expresses itself in seeking justice and freedom where these are needed. All in all, the intrinsic value of ourselves allows us to celebrate ourselves. We are all that we ever need to be and it is always enough. And the intrinsic value of others allows us to respond to their beauty with spontaneous creativity. It inspires us to give pleasure to others. To be pleasure for them.
The essence that is our true selves can never be anything other than perfect. So, this is the ultimate source of intrinsic value. Only in the manifest world can any kind of contingency arise. Darkness and chaos, as we have seen, may manifest in destructive and evil acts within the human economy. We could say that the response to beauty here has failed. Beauty is too much and for some reason the destructive personality flees from it or crushes it rather than trying to reflect it back into the world. But this is not ultimate reality. Even the most depraved and debased person is not pure evil. They still have intrinsic value. To deny this is to deny the true reality of the world. It is also to deny a part of ourselves. We are all one, so there is darkness and chaos running through us all.
The assumption of intrinsic value then is the basis for all our action in the world. We might more generally just call it our response to beauty as beauty is the supreme value from which all other values are derived. Correct valuing — a creative response to beauty — is the currency of our economy of grace. The creativity comes from beyond ourselves - it is grace made manifest in the world through us.
