We should not be confused by the possibility that Friday's happiness may be a consideration on Crusoe's value scale, or vice versa. For example, Crusoe may offer Friday a coconut as a no-strings-attached gift. From that action we can infer that Crusoe values having Friday enjoy the coconut more than he values munching on it himself. That inference, however, still only compares two points on Crusoe's own value scale. We still have no basis for relating his value scale to that of Friday.

Alternatively, a third individual X may have feelings as to whether greater weight should be given to Crusoe's utility preferences or to those of Friday. Those feelings are reflected in relative rankings on X's value scale, but they again provide no objective basis for comparing Crusoe's and Friday's value scales.