  The fundamental bearers of intrinsic value are either persons (or other conscious beings) or states of persons (which in turn he took to be proper parts of persons). Because no person is a part of another person, the universe itself cannot be taken to be a fundamental bearer of intrinsic value. Therefore, one can say of the universe that it is intrinsically good or intrinsically bad only if one means by this either something about the average value of parts of the universe or by their total value. (This view is defended in “The Individualism of Value”, reprinted in Philosophical Studies.)  McTaggart opts for the latter view, and for this reason, McTaggart accepts the repugnant conclusion, which is that a universe containing millions of people whose lives are barely worth living might be better than a world containing far fewer people, each of whom live lives of spectacular value. McTaggart notes that this conclusion would be repugnant to certain moralists, but sees no reason to think ‘repugnance in this case would be right.’ (See section 870 of the second volume of the Nature of Existence.)