What is intrinsically valued? What is valued by nature?
We (adults) all know the urges that arrive upon the onset of puberty. We are animals, after all—genetically predisposed to reproducing the genes we carry. And why are these genes so intent upon reproducing? —because those that didn't carry this predisposition to reproduce are the ones that didn't; they died off, leaving only those that do carry this predisposition to reproduce. We are the humble inheritors of eons of reproduction and adaptation, and we can trace this back to (at least) the first simple lifeforms that appeared on Earth. So, we carry with us the pre-programmed values to survive, thrive, reproduce, and care for the next generation, so the cycle can repeat, as if by inertia, stretching back billions of years. These are the intrinsic motivational forces that condition our experience fundamentally.
This is not a condition any of us has consciously chosen. It's much bigger than any of us. Even if our minds don't like the story we're caught up in, we can't simply opt out by choice. The best we can do is face facts and make friends with the situation. We can thereby continue to adapt, contributing ever-so-small adjustments to the predisposition of the species.
