David Gauthier Value Judgments

In determining how things have different levels of subjective value, David Gauthier outlines both rational and irrational reasons one might have for preferring something to another. As a subjectivist philosopher, Gauthier believes that value descriptions like "good" or "bad" are entirely the products of the imagination of individuals, who are likely to disagree with other individuals over what they deem to be valuable. Since these values are inadvertently chosen by the subject, it is impossible to be "wrong" when making value judgments, but it is still possible to make these value judgments irrationally. One might choose randomly, without thinking about their judgment, or one might contradict themselves in their judgment. Our words and actions often conflict with each other, we sometimes take actions without realizing what the consequences will be, and perhaps worst of all, we sometimes wish we had acted differently in the past, despite knowing in the moment how this action might affect our future selves. But if values really are subjectively decided, then it is still possible to aim for any end without contradicting oneself, so long as the decision was made rationally, which according to Gauthier is when "there is no conflict between their behavioural and attitudinal dimensions and they are stable under experience and reflection" (Gauthier 32-33). No matter what subjective decision an agent may make, no matter how cruel or stupid it may seem to the rest of us, the
Under subjectivist philosophies, I am free to value anything, but I am also free not to value the subjectivism which gave me the freedom to value whatever I wanted in the first place. Unless specific rules can be applied to a subjective philosophy, the philosophy can be used to contradict itself. But if specific rules are applied to a subjective philosophy, it would contain some level of