More explicitly, what I’m saying is that terminal goals are not up for grabs, and scholarly pursuit of a particular question can serve as a terminal goal. So the choice of particular questions shouldn’t be dismissed or sacrificed on the altar of effectivity, even if answering those questions has no broader use. This is an issue of values, not means of achieving them. Effectiveness is relevant with subgoals, or if effectiveness/status/impact are themselves seen as major terminal goals, but that is not a given.
Well said. “it’s in any case quite useful to set effective priorities.” this is exactly where I have been struggling.
More explicitly, what I’m saying is that terminal goals are not up for grabs, and scholarly pursuit of a particular question can serve as a terminal goal. So the choice of particular questions shouldn’t be dismissed or sacrificed on the altar of effectivity, even if answering those questions has no broader use. This is an issue of values, not means of achieving them. Effectiveness is relevant with subgoals, or if effectiveness/status/impact are themselves seen as major terminal goals, but that is not a given.