What Is The Value of Life, Pt. 3: Morality

Summary: How do we measure the value of a human life or any life? This is an extremely important question that affects everything from whether or not we wear a mask when asked to how much money we’re willing to spend to prevent Afghanistan from falling into the hands of cruel and heartless despots. So far, we’ve looked at methods of <a href="https://www.oldmantalking.xyz/what-is-the-value-of-life-pt-2/">economic valuation</a> and in a broad sense <a href="https://www.oldmantalking.xyz/what-is-the-value-of-life-pt-1/">how life itself is defined</a>. What we’ve found so far is that there is no straightforward answer and the best we can hope for is to gather all the information we can and try to make an intelligent and reasonable decision. Intelligent and reasonable. Those are important words and, as with much of what we’ve discussed, not everyone agrees on their definition. When we look at the state of the world in its current form, one might make the argument that we are dangerously short of both. We’re<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/opioid-drug-addiction-algorithm-chronic-pain/"> failing in fighting the opioid crisis</a>. The US, and arguably the world is in a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/08/delta-has-changed-pandemic-endgame/619726/">pandemic spiral</a>, either unable or unwilling to control new variants as they arrive. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/22617371/extreme-weather-science-attribution-un-report-climate-change">Weather is more extreme and climate change is more drastic</a> than even the worse predictions imagined. And by all accounts, twenty years of war in Afghanistan proves to have been a<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-47391821"> colossal waste of time, money, and lives</a> as the country once again is overtaken by the Taliban, one of the most repressive and inhuman regimes to ever exist. When we look at the status of the world around us, we find plenty of what we might call “bad” actors, people, and organizations who not only put their personal interests above others but do so in a way that intentionally puts others at risk or commits deliberate harm. Those are people whose value we would question. Does the world need “bad” people? What positive contribution are they making to the world by inflicting so much pain on others? Perhaps more importantly, we might anxiously ask where all the “good” people are and why aren’t they making more of a difference? After all, most of us like to think that we’re “good” and would probably give the same label to most other people we know. We’re hesitant to call someone “bad” until they’ve proven repeatedly that they are a threat to the peace and happiness of others. In our valuation of life, it seems natural that “good” people are worth more to society than “bad” people, despite the fact that “bad” people take up more of the conversational news space. The challenge we’re faced with, though, is how do we define “good?” The answer lies in a discussion of morality and, once again, we find ourselves faced with a variety of definitions that not only present different points of view, but at times flat-out argue with each other. How we adapt these different philosophies of morality shapes not only how we behave but how we judge and value the behavior of others. There is a lot of ground to cover here. Any of the topics I’m about to raise are more adequately covered in very large books with longer words than I use, which is quite a feat unto itself. We’re not going to be complete. What I want to do is give you enough information for you to ask yourself questions about why you are good and how you value those around you. Let’s get started.

What Is The Value of Life, Pt. 3: Morality

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