Open Forum - Human Value
I have been thinking a great deal about the Terri Schiavo case as have many people across the Country and, perhaps, around the world. There are voices coming from every side expressing opinions and ideas and asking some very important questions.
I believe the underlying issue related to this case is that of human value. For some people, perhaps there is no real value to human life. To others, perhaps there is some feeling or some sense of intrinsic value or worth, but they're not really sure what it's based on or where it comes from. Still, others, grounding for human value is found in some religious perspective. I believe there is great value in listening to the views of others so that, perhaps, we can understand the basis for our own views better.
In that spirit, I would like to pose the following question and ask you to respond with your answer:
According to your worldview (the values upon which you base your life), is human life intrinsically valuable? To what extent and upon what do you base that opinion? (i.e. what is the grounding, warrant, or basis for it? What reason do you have for attributing value to human life?).
I assure you, this is no gimmick to try and get traffic or anything of the sort. It is an honest attempt to hear from various worldview perspectives. My field is worldview studies and I would really like to hear from you regardless of your point of view, religious background (or lack thereof), etc.
The only ground rule is that if someone comments and you would like to respond, please do so respectfully. I will not comment on any individual post but, depending on the level of response, I may summarize and offer commentary which, of course, you are welcome to respond to. I believe that, with good participation, this can be a interesting exercise in critical thinking and discovering the basis upon which we base our opinions and, by extension, our lives. Of course, it will only work if you participate, so please speak up and be heard. This is the only time that I will allow anonymous posts on this blog, so if you're hesitant to identify yourself, that's fine. Thanks for participating.
I believe the underlying issue related to this case is that of human value. For some people, perhaps there is no real value to human life. To others, perhaps there is some feeling or some sense of intrinsic value or worth, but they're not really sure what it's based on or where it comes from. Still, others, grounding for human value is found in some religious perspective. I believe there is great value in listening to the views of others so that, perhaps, we can understand the basis for our own views better.
In that spirit, I would like to pose the following question and ask you to respond with your answer:
According to your worldview (the values upon which you base your life), is human life intrinsically valuable? To what extent and upon what do you base that opinion? (i.e. what is the grounding, warrant, or basis for it? What reason do you have for attributing value to human life?).
I assure you, this is no gimmick to try and get traffic or anything of the sort. It is an honest attempt to hear from various worldview perspectives. My field is worldview studies and I would really like to hear from you regardless of your point of view, religious background (or lack thereof), etc.
The only ground rule is that if someone comments and you would like to respond, please do so respectfully. I will not comment on any individual post but, depending on the level of response, I may summarize and offer commentary which, of course, you are welcome to respond to. I believe that, with good participation, this can be a interesting exercise in critical thinking and discovering the basis upon which we base our opinions and, by extension, our lives. Of course, it will only work if you participate, so please speak up and be heard. This is the only time that I will allow anonymous posts on this blog, so if you're hesitant to identify yourself, that's fine. Thanks for participating.
Labels: David C. Price
posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 3/22/2005 10:35:00 PM
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8 Comments:
Nice site makes me want to run for a latte. I came here because thru Nick Queen. I hope to read more. The topic of worldviews is very interesting to me. I am a homeschool mom and the worldview I teach my children is of utmost importance in our education. I look forward to your insights.
spunky
man's life has value
but at what point does life end?
does heartbeat = life?
Here's my thought on worldview. The link wasn't working earlier.
http://spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2005/03/why-wisdom-matters.html
Spunky
I belive that every human life has worth. I base this view on several observations. The first perspective is one of sheer economics. We invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in having children, caring for them, raising them, educating them, etc. From the simple economic investment in them, human life has worth. Secondly, we have chosen to live in a country, which declares in its foundational documents "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." I understand this to mean that every person living in this country has the right to live (no, I am not leading us down the road of the death penalty discussion). One last observation I would mention (although there are several more relevant to this discussion) is the Judeo-Christian persepective. I belive, as do a large number of adherents to Christianity around the world, that God created life and by that simple fact, it therefore has value.
I belive that every human life has worth. I base this view on several observations. The first perspective is one of sheer economics. We invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in having children, caring for them, raising them, educating them, etc. From the simple economic investment in them, human life has worth. Secondly, we have chosen to live in a country, which declares in its foundational documents "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." I understand this to mean that every person living in this country has the right to live (no, I am not leading us down the road of the death penalty discussion). One last observation I would mention (although there are several more relevant to this discussion) is the Judeo-Christian persepective. I belive, as do a large number of adherents to Christianity around the world, that God created life and by that simple fact, it therefore has value.
Human life has value on the basis that it was created by a Creator Who created it in His image. No other basis for our value will hold up upon examination. A secularist/materialist/Darwinist who claims to hold to a high view of life, though I'd applaud that stance, is inconsistent with his own view of origins. Human life must be defended.
from Bill Scheurer at Prism Magazine
Once again, the politicians and media have offered the yearly spectacle of surrogate virtue to redeem our collective soul. This time in the form of a helpless woman, made childlike and beautiful in her affliction. She is the token of our culture of life.
Before going on, let me say that if I were in Congress, I would have voted to save her, too. (Not that this absurd legislation will actually do that - it merely passes the issue to another set of courts, which are unlikely to intervene and save her life.)
I would have voted to save Terry Schiavo because my conscience cannot turn aside from the burden of saving life, no matter what the stage or perceived quality of that life. This is the same conscience that compels me to oppose war and capital punishment, and to work for a more humane and just society - a world where no one starves to death, a world where no one dies for lack of medical care. This is a hard order, I know.
Is this why our government and press do not work for it - because it is impossible? Or, is it because it is too difficult - too expensive, politically and economically?
With the trillions of dollars we spend on war and luxury, how many lives could we save? Like Otto Schindler at the end of SCHINDLER’S LIST, when he wanted to throw away his ring and fancy car, crying out - how many could these have saved?
Is it true that 50 million people die each year from hunger and disease? Things we could invest our fortunes in, instead of consumption and war. 50 million people! 8 Holocausts every year! Avoidable, preventable deaths. Bigger than the Twin Towers. Bigger than the Tsunami. The holocaust of poverty. The tsunami of greed.
Instead, we anoint a scapegoat, a sacrificial lamb, a token, every year. We invest this victim with the burden of our humanity - drive it into the wilderness, sprinkle its blood on our doors - and count ourselves among the elect, the ones chosen to live.
Whether we genuflect at the mythical story of Jessica Lynch, or the Iraqi boy flown to our finest hospitals for medical care - all of these poster-child stories stand in silent proxy for the thousands of other veterans and civilian victims of our war, who receive no such attention from our government, our press, or our economy. These observances show that we are good people, that we care, that we value life.
This year, it is Terry Schiavo, who beams with the beauty of a saint, an icon of helpless love. Yes, let us save her (for real, not for show). But let us also save the millions of others we kill with our indifference and greed. We rip the feeding tubes from their veins with our callous priorities, the same as hers.
Only by changing these priorities will we save our collective soul, will we become the ‘beloved community’ of the truly elect. Peace be with you.
(Bill Scheurer is the national coordinator of www.PeaceMajority.org and the author of a small book of interfaith inquiry - US & THEM: BRIDGING THE CHASM OF FAITH – available here.)
a consistent worldview valuing all life, whether they are pre-born,elderly, illegal immigrant, non-American (even Islamicist), atheist, criminal, in a "persistent vegetative state", Democrat, Republican, Darwinist, Christian, or anything else is my position.
I am surrounded here in Canada by people from Central America who came here rather then the USA because the USA sponsered and trained killers in central ameria in the past wars of 20 or so years ago. The dollar value was minimal. What would have happened if the dollars would have been spent on helping people and the economies in that region. Instead America sent guns and trained one side to fight the other in a mas of killing that finally ended. The bad guys later took to voting and are now in power working for a better country. Now we see billions of dollars being spent in another area of the world to solve the problems by killing again. This time it is more complex because of the misunderstanding of the religion that also kills to solve problems.
Value of human life? What a joke. Americans live a Hollywood movie life which disconnects when it comes to reality. They can kill thousands but save one boy to show how kind they are. They create problems then set out to solve the ones they created by the last 4 or 8 year term. Even the idea of spreading democracy is such a farce when you consider that the CIA paid 7 million dollars to Augusto Pinnoche to take over an elected socialist government in Chile and kill thousands on get this Sept 11,1973. It is rumoured that Alquida picked this day with this in mind.
Value of human life when you shoot down a medical program that Clinton was planning to be like Canada? Get real, Americans are self deceived in many areas and value of human life is certainly one of them. Save one person to show your prolife but on the same day somewhere in the world let your soldiers kill others in the name of helping the world? The world option is against you because of one thing. You do not know how to repent of obvious past sins and addmit you did it wrong.
Face your history.
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