[BibChr]

So you decide utility is the transcendent moral value.

In other words, you make it up.

That is, indeed, one of the two options.

Dan

[AustinBill]

Utility isn't a "transcendent moral value", it is simply a hallmark of functionality and sustainability.

Many suicide bombers seem to believe they are following a divine mandate. Whether or not this is true, such values are ultimately self-limiting and not sustainable. The question of whether this value was "made up" or derived from external authority makes little difference. In either case the value is or is not adopted by individual choice.