Overview
Philosophers and intellectuals often assume that "value," "good," "bad," "right," "wrong," "ought," and similar notions are merely matters of opinion and are not susceptible to any form of rational validation. According to one school of thought, the word "good" reflects nothing more than the personal desires of the person who utters it. Yet most people would sharply distinguish between what a person wants and what he or she ought to do: the two may often coincide, but at other times they differ. On the other hand, if the goals a person ought to pursue are not determined simply by his or her desires, then to what else are we referring when we say that that individual "ought" to do so?