Value and dignity
Alexander R Pruss,
Alexander Pruss's Blog,
Apr 23, 2024
I probably wouldn't use the cute philosophical trick as in this post, but I nonetheless agree with the outcome: that respect for human life is not a form of value. The way you can show this (with cute tricks) is to tie yourself in knots arguing about what form of sacrifice of human life is 'worth' more than another in various circumstances. My observation is that in today's society the concepts of 'worth' and 'value' are so tied into our everyday thinking we can scarcely conceive of a world without them. But that, surely, is an error. The ideas of 'worth' and 'value' are not so fundamental as all that. All of the efforts devoted to (say) pedagogies of care, equity, social justice, etc., are attempts to show this. Image: 'Dignity', originally from the Simpsons.
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