Another take on this is that there is no "noble goal" at all, whatever one individual finds interesting is their own choice and freedom and there's no reason to create a hierarchy of goals which would be completely arbitrary.
Another take on this is that there is no "noble goal" at all, whatever one individual finds interesting is their own choice and freedom and there's no reason to create a hierarchy of goals which would be completely arbitrary.
What you are suggesting is a nihilistic approach. Despite our collective inability to determine any "root goal" of the universe to aspire to, we collectively benefit from certain "local goals" - such as trash collection, trying to stop people from running around and killing others, having food (ideally good) available, etc.
A "noble goal" is a social construct. You might actually define it as a goal with positive impact on a society that some members would rather not or cannot do themselves.
I agree that people should not have their goals forced. However, the concept of a "noble goal" is useful in describing this evolutionarily emergent social phenomenon. And I am in favour of a societal incentive system that rewards positive impact to society.
Most of my goals are pretty neutral, and I guess I don't really put much effort into any particularly noble ones. Open source software, I guess. Though I can see that some goals really have a large beneficial impact to the experience of life, and can't help but appreciate people who engage in those goals.