The Value of Life

[Aix]

What is the value or sanctity of life?

 

What is it that makes a human's life more valuable than an animals? Why are some animals' lives worth more?

 

At what point might a robot be considered alive enough to have the sanctity of life?

 

We're not looking for a perfect answer here. Just say what you believe.

[Arimetal]

My opinion is there is no such thing as sanctioned life. 

 

A dead human is no different from a dead spider.

 

Both are hollow and most likely broken shells.

 

Both lived a length of life, long or short.

 

Once they are dead, there is no difference between them. So why treat the death of one thing different from the other?

[Forest Fire]

My opinion is there is no such thing as sanctioned life. 

 

A dead human is no different from a dead spider.

 

Both are hollow and most likely broken shells.

 

Both lived a length of life, long or short.

 

Once they are dead, there is no difference between them. So why treat the death of one thing different from the other?

this.

 

 

i mean really, when the universe ceases to exist, what will really matter? absolutely nothing. 

[宇佐見 蓮子@C94]

When I was a kid, I used to believe that my life is worth around 3 billion yen. But, a smart-aleck from class once said “I read in a book once that the total life expenses for a salaryman are about 200 million to 300 million yen. So I think the average person would be somewhere around there.”. Still, I was under the impression that my lifespan is worth more than the average person, so 600 million yen sounds about right.

 

As it turns out, a year in my lifespan is worth about 10000 yen. Since I have around thirty years and three months remaining, the value of my life would be around 300 thousand yen, plus an additional three months.

 

So... In the end, the 'value of life' cant even afford a brand-new car. Or a year of rent.

[EndUser]

    Sanctity is there for various reasons:

- Religious

- Humane

- Unwritten laws (I mean, laws that are not written/scripted but are still some a group of people or community follow anyway)

 

    Regarding religion, it's the common "preservation of the body and helping it (mostly, the soul) make it to the afterlife intact. It's humane, because we want to show respect to those we loved and those who are responsible for us being where we are. As for the unwritten laws, it's basically "There's no need to disregard humans and animals. Killing or being killed is inevitable, but there's no reason to be soulless just because of that, and that's what makes us different."

    Our lives are "more valuable" because we have control of everything around us and of ourselves. Not that we can suprass the glory and power of Mother Nature and our planet Earth, but we've managed to pvercome many obstacles and developed in a way that no other living organism has managed to (and will be late to, if at all).

 

    There will potentially be a time where robots will be considered to be alive enough, but that means they should be part of the Cycle of Life as we know it (i.e. animals/plants/humans (and robots) giving & taking for our sake, while also paying our debt to everything 'cause of the meaning of life).

 

 

My opinion is there is no such thing as sanctioned life. 

 

A dead human is no different from a dead spider.

 

Both are hollow and most likely broken shells.

 

Both lived a length of life, long or short.

 

Once they are dead, there is no difference between them. So why treat the death of one thing different from the other?

   You're not wrong here at all. However, it was our inevitable change as creatures that has led us to prioritize things around us and our species compared to the rest. It's the difference I talked about that makes us think this way.

  It is also the hope we seek and the despair we want to avoid. Mother Nature doesn't care about us at all, and that's why we act the way we act: To survive. To have control. That's what bacteria do, and we're not different from bacteria.

[Bellringer Angel]

If I have to be dead honest here, the most scientifically correct answer to this question in my opinion would be Intelligence = Worthiness.

[Tentacruel]

To be honest, I do believe in the sanctity of life.  I would put humans above animals, but I do believe animals hold some value.

 

And no, I would not ever consider a robot to be alive.  

 

But that's just like, my opinion, man. 

[vla1ne]

life holds no value in the grand scheme, really, nothing does. the value is all perceived. to put it another way, a lifesaving cancer operation is inherently, as valuable as a basketball game between two kids, or your kid's life, is worth the exact same as the ant you stepped on as you rushed to the ER to give birth to said child.

 

with that said, outside of absolutes, and the "grand scale argument" i consider life incredibly valuable, i consider my life to be very valuable. because my own life is how i can experience the world around me and i consider others lives to be similarly valuable, or in some cases, more valuable than my own life, even at the end of life, when there's nothing left but a corpse, that corpse is a steadily rotting symbol of the life that once resided within that bag of flesh. and holding something like a funeral is more a ritual for the living to grieve and move on, than to do anything for the dead.

[Brinolovania]

life holds no value in the grand scheme, really, nothing does. the value is all perceived. to put it another way, a lifesaving cancer operation is inherently, as valuable as a basketball game between two kids, or your kid's life, is worth the exact same as the ant you stepped on as you rushed to the ER to give birth to said child.

 

with that said, outside of absolutes, and the "grand scale argument" i consider life incredibly valuable, i consider my life to be very valuable. because my own life is how i can experience the world around me and i consider others lives to be similarly valuable, or in some cases, more valuable than my own life, even at the end of life, when there's nothing left but a corpse, that corpse is a steadily rotting symbol of the life that once resided within that bag of flesh. and holding something like a funeral is more a ritual for the living to grieve and move on, than to do anything for the dead.

This.

 

Life doesn't have an inherent meaning, but it does have meaning that we give it. If you step on a bug, you probably will never think anything of it. If a person you know dies, you'll actually feel something. A dead human is more than a dead spider, to use XOXO's example. Spiders don't have the kind of intelligence, emotional depth, and connections people do. Even if they (or any other animal) do, the fact of the matter is, we don't really know about it. We do know that people can think deep thoughts, do big things, love people and be loved back... The point is, humans can do a whole lot of stuff in their lives, and we can all (to an extent) understand them and feel emotions towards them. Obviously people love dogs and stuff too, but the fact remains that humans are the most intelligent, dominant animals on the planet, and of course we'll never understand another species as well as we understand out own.

 

That was a bit ramble-y, but I hope you guys get the idea. People can do great things, can think like no other animal on Earth, can connect with other people. We care about others and we care about what they do. That's what gives a life meaning, and that's why a human corpse is more than just a lump a flesh.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

I found myself caring sometimes more about deaths of fictional characters than real people so I suppose I'm kinda of the opinion that life on its own doesn't hold specific value.