How Much Is a Life Worth?

http://tinyurl.com/2ye3nr
http://tinyurl.com/2hbazc

Both articles discuss end-of-life issues and how much a life is worth. Is one life worth more than another life? I would say yes. There are some people however that would say without question that all lives are worth the same.

Let's try an example. First a word about how I like to use examples. Remember back in high school geometry when you learned about proofs? If a proof is demonstrated true in all cases then it is a theorem? Now remember when all you had to do was find one, just one, example where the theorem would not hold true and you could break it?

Let's suppose that your theorem is that you value all life equally. Now let's say you are in this situation. There is a fire in a building and there are two people inside. Person A means the world to you. This could be your mother, father, wife, husband, best friend, brother, sister, or whoever else you really love/like. Person B is your worst enemy, this person has done grave harm to you or your loved ones, or may even be a complete stranger. You enter the building and only have time to save one person. Who do you choose? Well, that's an easy one right? Person A.

But remember you value all life equally. Well, if you value both lives equally you choose randomly who to save. Right? Because afterall you value both equally so it doesn't matter who you save. Ok, so now what's the "correct" answer? Yeah, yeah, the correct answer that everyone wants to hear is that you rescue both Person A and Person B.

Now let's say that Person C takes your place and does not know either Person A nor Person B. Person C also values all life equally. If so, then the random choice should also take place. But let's say there is some reasoning involved.

Person C might presumably make some logical choice as to why he/she chose to save one person over the other. Some examples might include: "I didn't have much time, and Person A was closer to me so I saved Person A" or "Person B looked way too heavy for me to carry out and for us to both reach safety in time so I chose to save Person A". In this case Person C values both A and B equally and is making a logical decision. But what is a "logical" decision in this case? I would argue the logical decision for Person C is to save the person that would allow him/her to reach safety as well. Because after all, Person C values his/her life just as much as the others. The question Person C is answering is "how do I maximize the lives saved?".

Here's another thought: If Person A is an infant with his/her entire life in front of him/her and Person B is on his/her deathbed, who do you save? Which life is more valuable? To whom?

In my opinion, the question of "is one life worth more than another" has to be followed by "to whom?". My take is that one life is not valued the same as another life because it depends on who the person is and to whom you are posing the question. If you are a person of religion I bet you like to think in terms of every life being valued equally by your god. The question is do you really value all life equally?