The value of a human life.

[StormShaun]

Any human's life is valuable its that just some don't deserve it.

I would say its priceless unless the person is totally evil and don't deserve to live.

If it was me choosing someone to live or die, if they were evil I would have to think more because is it a person that can change or is it someone thats so evil that they will just keep being evil.

Anyhow I would save anyone I can.
Life is too priceless.

 

[Smagmuck_]

The human life holds no value. But that's only me, and if you saw the idiots I had to go to school with, some of you would agree. I'm not saying it makes genocide and murder right. I'm saying that on a large universal scale, nothing, nothing holds value. It's how you interpret it. My family/Significant Other and friends, hold value to me since I spend the most time with me are the ones I care about most. Everyone else can die in a hole. Since I can't be assed to care.

 

[emeraldrafael]

HUman life, like many things, is worth about three fiddy.

...

Probably closer to $6.5 million (last I checked, which was about a 2 years ago).

yes, I saw the statistic. hence the joke.

(cause lets face it, you're basically buying the daughter).

And up until about 20-30 years ago you were buying her virginity. Either people were fine with that or had a hard time letting go.

well you dont want used goods if you're paying for a woman, especially since most people would do so more for the financial/social status benefit to their family.

 

[crudus]

well you dont want used goods if you're paying for a woman, especially since most people would do so more for the financial/social status benefit to their family.

Also, don't you more or less buy a woman when you get a trophy wife?

 

[emeraldrafael]

well you dont want used goods if you're paying for a woman, especially since most people would do so more for the financial/social status benefit to their family.

Also, don't you more or less buy a woman when you get a trophy wife?

Probably depend on how you define buying your wife, but I'd say yes, i can see what you're getting at.

you certainly "own" parts of your wife if you pay for any augmentation she has on her as well.

...

Hunh, there's a alot of ways you can legally "own" someone.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

But seriously, keep offering money and eventually everyone breaks their morals. I'd kill someone for the right amount if I knew I could get away with it with the money. there's a guy I'd... well... no, nevermind.

Speak for yourself! There is no amount of money anyone could offer me to kill someone. If I'm going to kill someone I'm going to need a better reason than pure financial gain.

Which brings me to my opinion on the matter, I think all life should be valued equally, be it human, animal, or otherwise. And if a life is to be taken it better be for a damn good reason.
For example, survival (which inc. sustenance) is a good reason. Financial gain, however, is NOT a good reason.

yes, you say that now, just like how Im sure all those "corrupt" CEO types said they would never betray their morals. Or journalists. or doctors. and while I cant say for certain youw ould, I dont honesty think you could say for certain you wouldnt until its right there in front of you. Its easy to say now you wouldnt kill for money if you want an astronomical sum that there's no real plasuible way you'd get it. But once its in front of you, an actuality, things start to change.

It may be a generalization, but its had a moer successful track record than an unsucessful one, and has led me to wait till soemone proves it than take their word alone.

Well let me put it this way, I cannot imagine a sum of money big enough to make me want kill some random stranger. I cannot imagine a sum of money big enough to silence my conscience.

Which brings me to my opinion on the matter, I think all life should be valued equally, be it human, animal, or otherwise. And if a life is to be taken it better be for a damn good reason.
For example, survival (which inc. sustenance) is a good reason. Financial gain, however, is NOT a good reason.

Bacteria, plants, fungus aswell? Because they are alive aswell.

Well ok, sentient life then. And by my definition "sentient life" includes most animals.
Even so, every life form has a role to play in the biosphere.

 

[lollypopalopicus]

same as any other life forms, from the micro-organisms to us.

 

[VladG]

The value of a human life is not something you can measure. Period. It is not a commodity to be bought and sold, and a human is not an inanimate object like a widget that you buy and sell.

Yeah, and that's not the only thing wrong with people nowadays...


Jokes aside, the sad truth is a human life is like pretty much everything else... worth what you are willing to "pay" for it. Some people get killed over ridiculous arguments, very small amounts of money, carelessness, etc.

 

[rabidmidget]

It shouldn't have a value, once you assign it one it completely debases humanity and reduces people's lives to a means to an end.

 

[crudus]

The value of a human life is not something you can measure. Period. It is not a commodity to be bought and sold, and a human is not an inanimate object like a widget that you buy and sell

Actually, turns out it is really easy. Would you be alright with the government (whichever one you live under) spending $1 to save one person's life? (I am going to assume you say "yes"). Cool, who wouldn't? It's a dollar; if they really need it, they can take it out of my pocket. Would you be alright with the government blowing its GDP to save one person's life?

Spoiler: If you answer yes

Man, will you regret making that decision real damn quick. If your country did blow it's GDP to save that one life, its economy basically just crashed and thousands if not millions will die in the upcoming turmoil. Is that really worth that one person's life?

Spoiler: If you answer no

Now that we have the concept down, we need to haggle a little( maybe a little math) and we have the amount you personally put on a person's life.

Also, value=/=price. Something can have infinite value and be priced at a penny, or have no value and be ten million dollars.

That would be true if economics didn't exist. In a free market economy things tend to be priced at what people value it(you can manipulate that like crazy, but that is just because people are easy). Things are worth (ie. their value) whatever people will pay for them. Even sentimental value can have a price. I have a lot of things with a lot of sentimental value, but if someone offered a million dollars for one or more of those items, I would take her up on that offer in a heartbeat.

Who is to say what human life is worth though?

We are. Basically, take how much you are willing to spend to protect yourself from any and everything. There is the value you put on your own life. I'll admit, that is a shortened version.

Hunh, there's a alot of ways you can legally "own" someone.

I wouldn't call it owning in a legal sense, but you totally pay someone to live with you, possibly have sex with you, maybe do some work around the house. I'd call it renting.

 

[manic_depressive13]

It depends on their age, race, gender and socio-economic background.

 

[Saulkar]

Human life's value is whatever we give it and when its value is revoked it becomes a commodity.

 

[M0rp43vs]

Well let me put it this way, I cannot imagine a sum of money big enough to make me want kill some random stranger. I cannot imagine a sum of money big enough to silence my conscience.

I really have to agree with you there. I only ever forgive killing another human if it was in self defense. Funnily enough though, something like that would probably make me want to kill the monstrous bastard wanting kill for a quick buck and throttle any asshole who sunk low enough to accept. All in the defense of the person they want to kill.

The value of human life. Well, it varies from person to person. You get people who see it as infinite like the potential it hold, to the people who say it ain't worth dirt on the ground. So you see, I think trying to place a solid price tag on it as a worthless en devour with how different people see it.

Also, I'm surprised to see not a lotta "Oh, the human race is shit(except for me) and is better if we just nuke ourselves(except for me)" types in this thread. Come on! Really wangst it and type out those verbose posts!

 

[ScoopMeister]

It's like that story, later a film, where you get lots of money to press a button that kills somebody you don't know.

I'd be hammering away at that button like I'd drank 299 cups of coffee.

Except once you press it, you are basically doomed to die yourself. Which is what happens in the movie.

 

[Omega07]

well shit... according to my graphs the average value of a human being last year was just bellow 2.5$

with my knowledge growing and all, this year the average value of a human life is 0.9495 (that`s the price for one .308 round).

 

[llew]

how much is a human life worth? well how much does it cost to power a gas chamber?

 

[Jonluw]

Spoiler: Relevant

No, I don't think it would become more acceptable to kill a human.
I do think it would become more acceptable to revoke a person's priviliege of procreation though.

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

Nothing. There is nothing inherently valuable about a human life. Yet there a plenty of things that we cherish and attribute importance towards that hold little or no value to anyone else. So why does this even matter? Everyday of our lives entails indulgence in frivolous commodities, leisure time in itself has no value, or triggers an increase in productivity, so ultimately who even cares if there is any value or meaning to anything we are or anything we do? Why not simply just enjoy what there is?

 

[The Funslinger]

As anybody who took an economic class will tell you, the more of a product you have, the less expensive it becomes. So with the human population growing, would it be more acceptable to kill another human? Or am I just morbid? Anyway, I just think it's weird, what value does the life of another person have to you?

Captcha: Iveryta Tumors (should this worry me)

Well, from a purely economic standpoint, humans are almost worthless. We are in excess of six billion (although that's been the go-to statistic for years now, so it's probably much more) so we're about as common as pennies in, say, the British Economy.

In terms of morals, I'd say it's acceptable to kill in self defense if the situation calls for it. Though this sort of has to be judged on a case by case basis. Human life, however, isn't to my mind "sacred". As such, I'm pro-choice for abortions and euthanasia.

Terry Pratchett argues it better than I can:

 

[ThyReaper]

Never. I couldn't live with that massive guilt trip, I'd just turn into what I hate- greedy, selfish, devoid of humanity.