Does all human life have the same value? Is the life of a bum equal to that of say Oprah or the President?

Question

On the surface I can tell we want to believe that all human life has value but over and over again in the media and in different facets of life we understand that all lives ARE NOT of equal value. For instance, if a lebonese child is killed you can tell by our media coverage that that life was not worth as much as an Israeli or American child. If a celeb dies it's on the Yahoo home page..but if your father or mother dies it's not even news worthy. That being said, if all life is NOT of the same value then how do we determine value? Popularity? Net worth? Please explain your answer.

Answer 1

The first thing you have to ask about a question like "what is the value of X" is - what is its value to who?

Some people claim that the value of a human life is absolute - meaning that all have the same value no matter how people value them. The negative side of this claim is that the right to human life is claimed to be 'inalienable' - which means it can be neither taken away by another nor given away by the person whose life it is. It follows from this claim that things like suicide and euthanasia are *always* morally wrong.

It seems that these days the value of a human life (like the value of everything else) is determined by the market. This means that your life is worth to you what you will pay to maintain it, and is worth to others what they will pay to have access to your life (even if it's only 'media access'). To the market there is nothing sacred about anyone's life - each life is worth its value on the market, no more and no less. Of course, this evaluation is not final - the law, insofar as it is independent of the market, also has a say about the value of your life.

So this is part of the price we all pay for the advantages (and there are some) of living in a world dominated by market economics. Your good parents, who might, for all the world knows, have been among the 'salt of the earth', will remain anonymous while the name of the moral imbecile who murdered John Lennon goes down in history. (But note the irony that the market made Lennon famous too.)

The third alternative is simply that the value of your life is the value you, and nobody else, attaches to it. If you value yourself highly, you will defend your right to life, but only for as long as your life is valuable to you. This is not, of course, to say that you should never take into account the opinions of others about the value of your life - but always keep in mind that it is not their life, it is yours, and the final decision rests, or should rest, with you.

Answer 2

A lot of people determine value by how much money someone has. If someone has money then there is a better chance that they will buy you something or take you somewhere. Popularity also determines value. The more movies a celebrity has been in, the better you know them. The more gold albums someone has, the more you know them. Most people would do anything to become friends with a celebrity or a rich person but no one would want to be friends with someone from a 3rd world country. That is why both net worth and popularity determine value.

Answer 3

Thanks for reading this if you bother to.
Stand united, dont sit and wait, if your not heard than your not great.
Every person is another rain drop in the ocean, only the waves differ.
Every person is another sand grain on the beach, only the waves can change there form.
Unless we have the presitge to stand out, we will not be noticed.
The people that can notice you right now are the people that you should worry about.
What will happen to them, and they should worry what will happen to you.
If a country as whole realized that they are a portion of the ocean too, They may form a greater wave, and a better day.
The country is the ocean, and the raindrop is a man.
Where would the country be if there were no raindrops or no sand.
We must form a greater ocean and we must form a greater beach, to become an equal ocean is that one rain drop's dream.
Will it ever happen, I doubt it ever will.
If that ocean does dry up, it will never again be filled.
Now is the time to speak, now is the time to stand. When some one is sitting down offer them your hand.
We must line up instead of being an ocean with waves, so we can stand together till the end of days.
Stand united, dont sit and wait, if your not heard than your not great.

Answer 4

Hi there,
In my view, there are two determinations as to the value of life. In one we know that all life has vast potential and that everyone is loved by others, the value therefore lies in what can this life provide its owner and others. Its worth is an inherent value. Life is divine in its own right.

On the other hand, some have taken their life and turned it into a creative force that touches a large sphere of influence. We place the value of these lives in what they accomplish, how many they reach, and the influence they exert on others.

While it isn't correct to say one life has more worth than another, we do see people make themselves worth more to others through their actions, their words and the services they provide to others. Thus we hear much more about the end of one of these lives compared to the lives quiet majority.

Answer 5

First of all I would take any bum over the most self aggrandizing person I have ever seen (Oprah). And you shouldn't take a whole lot of stock in the opinions that come through media sources...all they are trying to do is increase ratings and sell papers. And finally all value is in the eye of the beholder. A scrap of paper may be more valuable than 10 gold bars to some people.

Answer 6

To the bum in question, his life is more valuble to him than Oprah or the President. So the question is: same value to whom? Unless we come to an absolute standard of value for life, the answer remains relative. In lieu of an absolute standard, which most are too lazy to search for, the media grabs our eyeballs and makes us think they are it. I prefer to accept a viewpoint that is far less biased, far more inclined to give equal value to every living being (not just humans) and doesn't have an agenda. That viewpoint, for me, is that of the Supreme Lord. His opinion on this is should be the standard, not the nonsense found in the media. In the Bhagavad-gita He says that all life, every living being, no matter in what specie or form one may be currently inhabiting, are all equally valuble since every one of them is a pure spiritual being, the energy of the Lord. If we all adopted that vision, just imagine what peace and harmony the world could enjoy?

Answer 7

Most bums I have met are far more interesting than Bush or Oprah! Those two are packaged with too much sanitizing and white bread. It is sickening. B & O are not real! Bums are real and have great stories! Beauty and value are in the eye of the beholder!

Answer 8

All life does have the same value to those who actually care. If anything if one were to argue as to who's life had a lesser value I would be inclined to say the rich and the famous for they had the power, the wealth, the opportunity to do something and chose not to.

Answer 9

What you see of TVor read in the papers, is the opinions of individuals, or the politics of the day......its certainly no indication of the value of human life as it should be.

The value of every single person on this planet is equally precious in the eyes of God.....

Under different circumstances and fate of life, the bum could have been the president............

Answer 10

It depends on what you value in the person....if its financial wealth\value; spiritual welth\value; goodness...helpfullness, wisdom....actions

i guess also it depends on if you are looking at it from a human earthly point of view.....or Gods view....i personally would only be interested in Gods view although i may never know it.....before God all men are equally foolish and equally wise...dust