We don't really have any "value". There's no "higher" reason why we exist. And the idea of us being "captains of this Spaceship Earth" is laughable when you look at the fact that we've wiped out an incredible amount of species. We basically left a trail of death wherever we migrated.

http://www.salon.com/2015/08/14/the_megafauna_massacre_human...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_megafauna

Add in the damage done during the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions.

I'm certainly no misanthrope, but we're not Earth's shepherds, we're kind of a scourge.

My personal belief is the goal in life should be to continually improve yourself, as much as possible and in as many ways as possible. Leave the world in a better place than you left it. Enjoy your time while it lasts. Seems like goals worth pursuing to me.