Full Idea
Beside the fact that my children are important to me for their own sakes, there is the additional fact that loving my children is important to me for its own sake.
Gist of Idea
I value my children for their sake, but I also value my love for them for its own sake
Source
Harry G. Frankfurt (The Reasons of Love [2005], 2.7)
Book Reference
Frankfurt,Harry G.: 'The Reasons of Love' [Princeton 2006], p.51
A Reaction
This is at the heart of Frankfurt's thesis, that love is the bedrock of our values in life, and we therefore all need to love in order to generate any values in our life, quite apart from what our love is directed at. Nice thought.