Instrumental Value

Instrumental value refers to the value that something has in virtue of its being conducive to something else of value. As such, to value something instrumentally is to value it as a means to some other end. For instance, currency has merely an instrumental value to most persons, insofar as it enables them to procure other goods and services that they value. Instrumental value is contrasted with intrinsic value. To value something intrinsically is to value it in and of itself, for its own sake, and not as a means to anything else. Furthermore, something that is of instrumental value can come to lose that value: when it is no longer necessary to achieve the end in question, when something else is found that can ...