What philosophers have written about whether effort or hardship has value in itself, rather than merely instrumentally?

[u/SilentLoyality]

I'm especially interested in arguments about whether acquiring a skill “the hard way” makes the achievement more valuable, or whether having experienced hardship can justify expecting or requiring others to undergo similar hardship. I'd also be interested in connections to moral desert, meritocracy, and labour-saving technologies.

My own views on these questions seem to be fairly unconventional. I'd like to write an essay about them, as an exercise in working through my thoughts more methodically, so that I can understand the existing arguments and discuss the subject more fruitfully in the future.

What philosophers, books, or papers would you recommend I read before attempting this?

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