Intrinsic Goodness

Clifford Williams presents his definition of intrinsic goodness in “Is Thinking Good for Its Own Sake?”  Here is the definition in my words: Intrinsic goodness has neither a need of a lawyer to prove its goodness nor a manufacturer to construct its goodness.  In other words, intrinsic goodness just is.  It does not need to be explained or to be made good.  It simply is.  And I confess.  Even after reading that intrinsic goodness can do without justification, I still want to know why it is good and what makes it good.  I wish I had the answers.  All I know is that sometimes, things just are.  Intrinsic goodness is one of those things.

Is there any intrinsic goodness left in this fallen world?  Yes, as a matter of fact.  I can name at least twenty intrinsically good things:

1.         God Himself is intrinsically good (and I must say that I am slightly surprised that Williams did not place Him in his list.)

2.         Playing musical instruments like the piano, guitar, violin…

3.         Sunshine

4.         Colors

5.         Dancing

6.         Laughter

7.         Singing

8.         Splashing creeks

9.         Swinging

10.      Snow

11.      Prayer

12.      Home-cooked meals

13.      Family

14.      Reading

15.      Climbing trees

16.      Traveling across the world

17.      Building new relationships

18.      Changing seasons

19.      Growing in faith

20.      Holidays

21.      Mountains

22.      Zip-lining

23.      Baking

24.      Gardens

I remember an assignment in my biology class that involved going outside and spending an hour outside.  For the first ten minutes we had to be perfectly still.  I was not very excited about this project because I did not want to give up a whole hour in my already packed day.  However, during those first ten minutes, I found it so peaceful and good to just be still.  There was not exactly a benefit from being still because instead of resting for an hour, I had to be alert and take note of what was happening within the nature around me.  Basically, I just stopped and drank in nature for that hour.  It was intrinsically good because the assignment really did not have a point—there was no way to justify it or make it good.  Honestly, the long and short of it is that it was good to sit quietly in nature for an hour, but I cannot explain why it was good.  It just was.

Questions:

On page 32, Williams quotes John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University: “Knowledge is a state or condition of mind, and since cultivation of mind is surely worth seeking for its own sake, we are thus brought once more to the conclusion…that there is knowledge, which is desirable, though nothing comes from it.”  I completely agree that knowledge is desirable, but I want to know, why is it intrinsically good even if it is not useful?

Can we humans produce an item or an action that is intrinsically good?  Why?  How?  Since we have fallen into sin, and though we can be redeemed through Christ we still battle with sin every day of our lives, how can we do anything intrinsically good?