Abstract
AbstractTraditional theism says that the goodness of everything comes from God. Moreover, the goodness of something intrinsically valuable can only come from what has it. Many conclude from these two claims that no creatures have intrinsic value if traditional theism is true. I argue that the exemplarist theory of the divine ideas gives the theist a way out. According to exemplarism, God creates everything according to ideas that are about himself, and so everything resembles God. Since God is wholly good in every way, and since ethical supervenience is true, it follows that creatures have intrinsic value.
Highlights
Common sense tells us that ordinary things have value
Some have recently argued that traditional theism rules out the possibility that creatures have value in virtue of their intrinsic features, a property commonly referred to as ‘intrinsic value’
That we have briefly summarized the exemplarist doctrine of divine ideas, we can get the basic argument for creaturely intrinsic value on the table
Summary
Common sense tells us that ordinary things have value. Family, friends, fulfilling work, and acts of charity are just a few examples of day-to-day things that we call good. If God explains some creature’s value in this second sense, it seems to follow that none of its intrinsic features are sufficient to make it valuable.
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