Are you saying that people aren't inherently valuable, and that these values are only subjective? Subjective assessments can be illusory or delusory, on the one hand, or they can be supported by facts, on the other. So you're only pushing the question back a step. Why do people see themselves as valuable? Is that impression justifiable or not? And is empathy based on a delusion or a recognition of something like a shared existential situation?