IS KNOWLEDGE AN INTRINSIC GOOD?
An intrinsic good is something that is good for its own sake and not as a means to another good thing. Pleasure has long been recognized as one such intrinsic good. What I intend to examine in this paper is whether knowledge is an intrinsic good as well. Is it good in itself to be knowledgeable, or is it the alternative case that knowledge is a means to pleasure and, therefore, is not intrinsic? This is the question that I contemplate.
Beyond the minimum education mandated by law, the reason that most people gain knowledge is to advance their skills and abilities so they may secure a better occupation. For example, the goal of almost all college students today is to obtain a degree, which is necessary for more favorable employment. The money a person earns from doing such leads to a better standard of living, and, in most cases, increases pleasure. According to this argument, knowledge is a means to gaining pleasure. Since it is as such, it is not an intrinsic good. If knowledge were in fact an intrinsic good, then knowledge would instead be good for its own sake and would not be a means to any other thing. Therefore, knowledge is not an intrinsic good.
This argument, however, fails to include those who attend courses or read books for the sheer joy of learning. For example, many people read books on history because they find the reading of such materials enjoyable. The gaining of knowledge through reading in this situation seems to be an end in itself. My earlier argument cannot hold against this rebuttal and thus is not valid.
However, it may be said that the acquisition of knowledge is a form of pleasure. According to the inclusivist theory, there are many different forms of pleasure, such as health and knowledge, that compose what we think of as knowledge. This would mean that knowledge is neither a means to pleasure, nor is an end in itself, but rather it is a repository of pleasure.
Through my argumentation I documented first an argument against knowledge as an intrinsic good, and then presented another example that invalidates the previous thesis. However, stating this argument is invalid does not imply there is not one which is valid. Finally, I sited a theory that evades the problem of determining the intrinsic nature of knowledge.
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. trans. Terence Irwin. ca. 384-322 B.C. this edition c. 1985. Hackett Publishing Co., Inc. Indiana: Indianapolis.
Sommers, Christina Hoff. Right and Wrong. 1986. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. Florida: Orlando.
