Why is a human life valuable?

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Prussia

SF Supporter
#1
Just that.

What, in your opinion, makes a human life valuable?
Why is every single one of the ~7.5 billion human lives valuable to this planet?
What makes your individual life valuable?

I'm honestly seeking for any kind of answer since I have yet to find one.
 
#2
We live in a society that everyone plays a part in. It might not be a big part, but they are all needed and whilst yes things will go on if one is lost, everything that person would have done is lost also, and society is worse off for those things having never happened.
 

yozhik

Well-Known Member
#4
Well. If we're trying to be rational, rarity is correlated with value. And 7.5 billion humans in the entire universe actually makes each one of us pretty rare, as humans are living parts of the universe capable of introspection and civilisation. So each human is technically valuable.

But personally....I have a lot of 'fuck you' energy. So I don't see why I should have to justify my existence. The ocean doesn't have to explain why it's valuable. The flowers don't. Judging by the lack of existential crises in other life forms they don't. So why should I, just because I have a few extra IQ points suddenly I have to prove I deserve life? By existing you're something, someone, that makes you valuable.
 

Baicha

Well-Known Member
#5
.... because we're all unique, we think differently, we all bring a different set of values and ideas to the table. No one else in the entire world looks at life in exactly the same way you do, or has the same dreams and ambitions, yes they can be similar but never exactly the same. It's that uniqueness that makes each and everyone one of special and worthy of admiration and love.
 

Aurelia

πŸ”₯ A Fire Inside πŸ”₯
SF Supporter
#6
Saying that human life is valuable is an entirely subjective, and perhaps even biased point of view, considering that humans are the only ones who think this is the case. I don't know whether I agree or not that it's valuable. A lot of it depends on individual beliefs I suppose. My opinion is that once we're dead, all we do is rot in ground. I do agree that if we lose a human being then the things that human being would have done are lost also, BUT who the hell knows what those things would have been. He/she could have become a serial killer or something. So, I don't think that society is always worse off having lost someone. That said, on this particular forum, there are a lot of good people who don't think that their existence is worthwhile because they're sick, and that's usually not the case.
 

Baicha

Well-Known Member
#7
I do agree that if we lose a human being then the things that human being would have done are lost also, BUT who the hell knows what those things would have been. He/she could have become a serial killer or something. So, I don't think that society is always worse off having lost someone.
.... But everyone has the POTENTIAL to do great things, it's that human potential that is lost
 

Aurelia

πŸ”₯ A Fire Inside πŸ”₯
SF Supporter
#9
.... But everyone has the POTENTIAL to do great things, it's that human potential that is lost
Oh, I agree that they always have the potential to do great things. But unfortunately, they also have the potential to do bad things, too.
 

cvb2377

Well-Known Member
#10
Some people have a purpose and do things in life but as for me, I just wish I never existed. I don't believe that every live is valuable because that's not how nature works, the weak die and the strong survive. Plus once you have a criminal record society wants you dead so there's that also. The dead penalty exists for the scum of the earth. I just wish that I could die to lighten this world of my burden most days, make it easier for those who actually want to live and do something with their lives.
 

AmboySlim

Well-Known Member
#11
From a Christian's point of view, one of the things that remind me personally about my worth is from Psalm 139:14

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful.
I know that full well.

Sometimes it confused and angered me so much when I seemed to have been born and created just to suffer and I lamented the pointlessness of it all but I realised that even in my pain that there was reason and meaning. All of life is a creation, my soul may be special but it isn't mine to take.

In a secular perspective I believe the last stateement can have some truth. The life you live has an effect on the world around you
 

Baicha

Well-Known Member
#12
I don't believe that every live is valuable because that's not how nature works, the weak die and the strong survive.
But in nature even the animals that do die (or are killed by predators) serve a purpose, even though that purpose may only be food!
Even criminals are able to change, yes I agree society can make it harder for those with a criminal record, but personally I think everyone has potential to be 'good' at something
 

Aurelia

πŸ”₯ A Fire Inside πŸ”₯
SF Supporter
#13
But in nature even the animals that do die (or are killed by predators) serve a purpose, even though that purpose may only be food!
Even criminals are able to change, yes I agree society can make it harder for those with a criminal record, but personally I think everyone has potential to be 'good' at something
Lol if your purpose is only to be eaten, that's kind of a shitty purpose ;p
 

cvb2377

Well-Known Member
#14
Lol if your purpose is only to be eaten, that's kind of a shitty purpose ;p
I agree. That's basically say the same thing I said before, some people do great things and others don't. Not everyone is going to become a great inventor or whatever. Some people don't do much In life besides take up space, barely scrap by and die. I think human delude themselves into thinking their more important then they really are. The world has a whole lot of losers and a few winners
 
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afterlifepig

Well-Known Member
#15
if you're a bread winner you're valuable to your family. that's one i can think of. even if you aren't a bread winner you might be a source of love and support, which is also valuable.
 

Baicha

Well-Known Member
#16
@AsphyxiateOnMisery .... a shitty purpose - yes, but still valuable to the animal that gets it's dinner lol

@cvb2377 I think there are a lot of so called losers who, if they held themselves in higher esteem, would realise that to their friends and family they ARE important. Maybe their lives don't hold meaning to the universe but there are very few people that are truly hated by all.
 

smackh2o

SF Supporter
#18
Value is only relevant with purpose. Without a purpose humans see something as less or not valuable. There are too many people in certain areas for them to matter to one another as there is no shared purpose and no community holding them together. It feels to me like the more people are around us, the lonelier we become.
 

QuantumLeap

Firing with all synapses!!
Staff Alumni
SF Author
SF Multi Media
SF Supporter
#19
I perceive that the crux of the question is 'human life'.

What is human life? No-one truly understands it. It is a mystery. The mystery is infinite.

And therein lies the beauty.

There is no ceiling on imagination. There is no limit on the potential of life. There are no 'finite' borders to how far we can explore.

The very height of human intelligence is yet to articulate a definition around the meaning of life.

Faith can settle many questions.

Even without a faith, though, one must still bow before the infinite mystery that surrounds our feeble existence on every side.
 

just_some_guy

Well-Known Member
#20
It feels to me like the more people are around us, the lonelier we become.
And there is a reason for that. In a way, Conway's "game of life" is a perfect example of your statement. Not enough neighbors? You die. Too many neighbors? You die. The mouse utopia experiments also show that there can be too much of a good thing. We need just the right amount of just the right people around us!
 
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