Is one human life worth more than another?

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by sean

I think this question needs to be contextualized. Are we talking in abstract terms or concrete? Is one life worth more than another to a particular person? Of course. Can one life be valued over another as a general principle? No.



This response from glatt is the intuitive one that occurs to most people, but if we are treating this as a problem of ethics rather than economics I think I agree with the philosopher Peter Singer.

Singer establishes what he calls an 'expanding circle of empathy' as one of the defining elements of human nature. It is natural to care for family, especially immediate family, and the evolutionary underpinnings of this behaviour are obvious. Similarly it's natural to favour compatriots and people with similar ethnic background over aliens, strangers and foreigners. We can easily observe the natural occurrence of xenophobia as well.

But what marks human nature as distinct from other species is progress from instinctive self interest to egalitarian universalism and the ability to feel the discomfort of strangers, of other races, and at some point, of other species. These ideas aren't completely novel, and most Buddhists would recognize them, but Singer has developed them in a rigorous way into a coherent ethical system.

Intuitively, most people judge negatively a person who deprives his or her own children in order to help others. This has actually been established in a number of surveys. But Singer asks quite reasonably, how can parents justify spending more on toys for their children than many families have to spend on the essentials of life? He makes a clear argument that this is unethical.

In other words, he says, it is unethical to value one's own children so much more highly than those of strangers.

I think it's also worth considering what it is that glatt might consider a 'critical role in society'. Would that be the emergency care specialist that revives him after his heart attack? Or the gangsta rapper I'm listening to on my iPod?

Valuing people according to their role in society raises an interesting question about what kind of society we're talking about. Many western cultures have modeled themselves on imperial Rome, a violent, philistine, stratified, slave owning, misogynistic dictatorship. At the same time, we've all observed with mild curiosity the rapid extinction of a wondrous variety of pre-industrial cultures scattered across the globe that, often as not, reflect values of gentleness and communal harmony that Western culture is unlikely to ever be able to comprehend, let alone aspire to.

On top of all this, I think the first question to ask about how we value others is, how do we value ourselves?

So how does this all change when you have sexual feelings for little kids? Because you have already admitted to that much, correct? http://www.cellar.org/showpost.php?p...&postcount=136

[sean]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

So how does this all change when you have sexual feelings for little kids? Because you have already admitted to that much, correct?

It doesn't change. Would you like to suggest why it would?

Actually, I have some questions for you Mercenary?

Are you homophobic? If so, well, thats pretty much all I need to know.

If not, can you tell me why a kid in a redneck town would expose himself to stigma and violence by choosing to be attracted to men?

Also, could you tell me the difference between volition and experience, or an emotion and an act?

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by sean

It doesn't change. Would you like to suggest why it would?

No. I was more interested in your thoughts. But you say it is no different if you are a pedophile. I accept that. You should know better than me, that is why I asked.

[sean]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

No. I was more interested in your thoughts. But you say it is no different if you are a pedophile. I accept that. You should know better than me, that is why I asked.

I've already revealed quite a bit about my thoughts. I thought it was fairly obvious that I think a paedophile has no less intrinsic value than anybody else. Did you see my other questions?

Originally Posted by smoothmoniker

Oh god. And THAT'S pretty much all I need to know.

Care to elaborate?