mind have value? Surely not. But anything which has a mind can have
intrinsic value, and anything that affects a mind may become valuable as
a means, since the state of mind produced may be valuable in itself.
Isolate that mind. Isolate the state of mind of a man in love or rapt in
contemplation; it does not seem to lose all its value. I do not say that
its value is not decreased; obviously, it loses its value as a means to
producing good states of mind in others. But a certain value does
subsist--an intrinsic value. Populate the lone star with one human mind
and every part of that star becomes potentially valuable as a means,
because it may be a means to that which is good as an end--a good state
of mind. The state of mind of a person in love or rapt in contemplation
suffices in itself. We do not stay to inquire "What useful purpose does
this serve, whom does it benefit, and how?" We say directly and with
conviction--"This is good."

When we are challenged to justify our opinion that anything, other than
a state of mind, is good, we, feeling it to be a means only, do very
properly seek its good effects, and our last justification is always
that it produces good states of mind. Thus, when asked why we call a
patent fertiliser good, we may, if we can find a listener, show that the
fertiliser is a means to good crops, good crops a means to food, food a
means to life, and life a necessary condition of good states of mind.
Further we cannot go. When asked why we hold a particular state of mind
to be good, the state of aesthetic contemplation for instance, we can
but reply that to us its goodness is self-evident. Some states of mind
appear to be good independently of their consequences. No other things
appear to be good in this way. We conclude, therefore, that good states
of mind are alone good as ends.

To justify ethically any human activity, we must inquire--"Is this a