As I read this passage, one idea that stood out to me is instrumental vs inherent value. At first glance, it seems easy to distinguish between “a means of getting to something else” and something that is “valued for its own sake” (Rainbolt & Dwyer 354). As I read on, however, I realized that it can be difficult to decide whether the means to an end also have their own inherent value.
In addition to pleasure, the book introduces two other types of consequences that can have inherent value: the satisfaction of desires, and the development of talents (Rainbolt & Dwyer 354-5). This idea that happiness and/or moral good can exist in all three forms resonates with me. On a basic level, the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain can be noble causes. For example, starving, being exposed to the elements, or being chronically sick all cause pain. Many charitable and altruistic efforts focus on eliminating these pains in people’s lives. Remember, the “QUALY” scale from Doing Good Better is all about measuring increases in people’s happiness (or quality of life). Something that brings a person pleasure or eliminates pain does have inherent value.
On the other hand, the satisfaction of desires and the development of talents almost always require that a person endure some sort of pain. You must perform actions that are instrumentally valuable in order to achieve the goal that will satisfy you in the end. In some cases, the instrumental actions can also have their own inherent value. For example, imagine I have a huge exam scheduled for next week. Studying every day isn’t fun or pleasurable, but it will allow me to score better on the test, fulfilling my ultimate goal. Additionally, if I study each day, I will feel more prepared and less stressed on that day, because I know that I am on my way to achieving my goal. The removal of the stress brings me short term pleasure, and is a byproduct of performing non-pleasurable actions which, at first, seemed to only have instrumental value.
I think that by trying to look for inherent value in parts of our lives that seem to only have instrumental value, we can become happier and more resilient people. After all, the pleasure from accomplishing a goal or satisfying a desire exists in a given moment, but it is usually outlasted and outweighed by the time and energy spent pursuing the goal. In other words, we should look at the journey as part of the reward.
Personally, I resonate with your conclusion on the satisfaction of desires and the development of talents. I also believe that your conclusion would only work for ambitious individuals; but more importantly, when you can visualize the goal you are attaining for. When the goal is ambiguous, the development of talent may still exist, however, the satisfaction would no longer be present because you are not fulfilling a desire.
I think that this can be pretty directly tied to intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, which is the same concept just from the perspective of the doer, not what is done. Intrinsic motivation is doing something for your own happiness or self-satisfaction while extrinsic motivation is doing something for an external reward such as a trophy or higher GPA. Most psychologists view intrinsic motivations to be more beneficial, and that makes me wonder whether things with inherent value are superior to instrumental.