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Practical Ethics Series
The Ethical Value of Life
Terry L Anderson
Jan 19, 2002
Introduction
We will explore the ethical value assigned to life and issued raised by this principle.
q Is the value of life higher than all other ethical values?
q How easily can we use the principle that life is sacred as a basis for an ethical system?
Premise
Life is sacred – is the ultimate value – and can never be taken. Preservation of life takes precedence over all other ethical values.
Simple? How easily can we use this as a basis for an ethical system? We will find this far from simple to apply. We will explore a number issues briefly. Some we may want to return to in greater depth.
Issues
Existence of life vs quality of life
Is there a level of quality of life below which life is not worth preserving?
q Euthanasia
Relative value of lives
How is the value of one life compared to its effect on one or more others? Can one life’s existence be worth less than a large difference in the quality of life of others?
q Abortion to save life of mother
q Abortion to improve life or psychiatric health of mother
q Death of one of Siamese twins to save other; to improve quality of life of other
q Old or invalid brave vs tribe
Does it matter who decides? E.g., ok for invalid brave to go into the forest, but not ok for tribe to send him.
Number of lives
Does it matter if the number of improved lives are great.
q Drug or medical procedure testing
q T-cells to create or provide cures (if T-cells are considered life)
Duration of life
Does it matter if life is only extended briefly?
q In triage, lifeboats, etc. should age be taken into account?
q Large expense to extend life of elderly by a few months, may cost many others in quality of life – expense, no resources for others heath, food, clothes, …
Animal vs Human life
What life is sacred? Does the principle apply to animal life? Is it the same or a lower value? How does preservation of animal life compare to quality of human life?
q Drug testing on animals
q Cosmetic testing on animals
q Animals as source of organs
q Animals as source of food
Creating Life
If life has ultimate value and existing life as a “right to live”, does potential life have a “right to become life”?
q Right to bear children vs overpopulation, genetic defect, …
q Right to be born
q Right to clone?
q Right to experiment with “improved” lifeforms?
And how does the right to create life compare with the right to preserve it?
q Justified to cause (or not prevent) a death to allow another life to be created? (Catholic view on mother vs baby).
q Many lives to be created?
q Nazi eugenics (death for a better race/society)