The value of life Options

[tkproduce]

A lot of debates seemed to be based on this, so I thought I might make a new topic out of it.

Obviously, life is a valuable thing. But how valuable is it to you? Different people have different opinions.

Say this kid at a school has somehow managed to pick up a fatal disease - maybe something like ebola, but worse. If he is not killed in the next 10 minutes, the disease is contagious enough to infect everyone in the school. You're a doctor with a needle in your hand and you are given the responsibility of making the decision of whether or not to kill this kid. What would you do?

Okay, a very unrealistic situation, but it is slightly similar to other situations. Like the war in Iraq. Do you think the lives of some are worth sacrificing for the welfare of others? The debate about abortion. Letting every foetus with a potential for life to live on, wanted or unwanted, may seem ideal to you, but looking at the big picture, I can see overpopulation and poverty.

So how much do you value individual life?

[Spirited Away]

I value my own life.. but that's an incredibly biased statement.

[*Kathleen*]

Well...the kid would die anyways...it sounds mean saying this, but it would be better for him to die sooner opposed to risking the lives of all the others who haven't caught the disease yet.

That was just your scenario. With Iraq, well, yes...it's better to be looking out for the future than to blind yourself from it. With abortion, it's life we're talking about here!

I suppose I value it greatly.

[*instantmusic*]

For the kid, they have those um, big bubble rooms they stay in. its a miserable life.

i appreciate life so much. now more than ever. going to bootcamp soon, and i might go to iraq. probably will. God help when the day comes when I'm face to face with an enemy and he points his rifle at me, because then it will be my God given right to defend myself.

i feel like the world is comming to an end.

[*CJ1*]

I dunno for the kid. For Iraq however, that's different. You die for the sake of others. To give them a better future and to help the next generations. If you're gonna die, die for something good.

[WildGriffin]

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few"
-Wraith of Khan

Life is the most valuable thing, but nobody has the right to take it. If some kid in some school had a disease like that and you had 10 minutes to decide what to do; use that 10 minutes to get him the fark outta there and into some bubble.

[*Kathleen*]

Yeah, but he's going to die anyways...besides...I don't think it's a situation like that. You're willing to keep one person and kill [probably] more than ten to fifteen people? If this is the case, imagine if it were a larger amount of people...heck...are you willing to wipe out the whole human race at the expense of one person? I'm sure that person would rather die...I would. You're being selfish if you know you're going to die, but don't want to just yet...rather kill more people because of your selfishness. That's what I think of it.

[*instantmusic*]

haha, omg. um. well i guess everyone forgot. dead or alive, the boy is still contangious. cuz, its a body, and ok hes dead, but the body's still there and the disease is still there. so ... dont kill him.

[*kryogenix*]

let's see. you get life for free. but your birth is a symbol of your parents love of each other, which is priceless.

the value of life can be debated, but it's only as valuable as you think it is.

[strice]

"A single death is a tragedy, a million is just a statistic." -Stalin

Stalin is one crazy bastard, but human life has never been a valuable thing in human history. life has always been traded for ideals and power.

A lot of debates seemed to be based on this, so I thought I might make a new topic out of it.

Obviously, life is a valuable thing. But how valuable is it to you? Different people have different opinions.

Say this kid at a school has somehow managed to pick up a fatal disease - maybe something like ebola, but worse. If he is not killed in the next 10 minutes, the disease is contagious enough to infect everyone in the school. You're a doctor with a needle in your hand and you are given the responsibility of making the decision of whether or not to kill this kid. What would you do?

Okay, a very unrealistic situation, but it is slightly similar to other situations. Like the war in Iraq. Do you think the lives of some are worth sacrificing for the welfare of others? The debate about abortion. Letting every foetus with a potential for life to live on, wanted or unwanted, may seem ideal to you, but looking at the big picture, I can see overpopulation and poverty.

So how much do you value individual life?

individual life is overrated.
in ss we were talking about this dam proj in china that could break because of refuse and it would kill millions. i said that if it so be it. we would have millions less mouths to feed and less people to clothes, electricity to be used and so forth. what happens happens.
abortion is a choice. you dont have to choose it. but this is the country of choices right?? should not we be able to have the choice. the women own the world. out of women come men. let the women choose. dont let bush[a man] choose. he doesnt know what it is like. he never will.

[Winter]

If the kid's gonna die soon, you don't have to kill him of right away. You can just keep him in one of those rooms...

I think the war in Iraq... Well if you're gonna die, die for soemthing good I guess. These people are out there fighting for other people's rights. So even if they die, I think everyone'll feel a bit better knowing they died feeling good.

Me, I don't think I value life too much. If I were to get something like leukemia or whatever, I'd be cool about it. I wouldn't go for treatment, I'd just die off. And I'm totally okay with that.

[tkproduce]

"A single death is a tragedy, a million is just a statistic." -Stalin

I love that quote. It's so true.

Say your dad died with a disease on the same day that a hundred people in a country far away with little connection with you were killed in a terrorist bomb attack. I think 99 out of a 100 people will agree that the death of their own father will feel more tragic to them than the deaths of hundreds of other people that they had no connection with. It's natural human instinct to think that way. I don't like to use this word to describe it, but if we put it simply, humans are selfish. I'm not saying it's wrong. Each one of us can't just go around helping everybody - it's impossible. That's why we help with the people around us. So we value the lives of some more than others.

Nature is goverened by survival of the fittest. Those who cannot survive do not get a chance to reproduce and therefore their genes are not passed on, so only the genes of the "fit" do get passed on. The weak die and the strong survive. However, with humans, maybe we value human life too much. There is a lack of survival of the fittest in the human population compared to the rest of nature. Most people believe that every potential life should be given one.

Hitler tried using the survival of the fittest argument. He thought that getting rid of the unfit - the Jews - will give more space and resources for the "true" Germans to live on. Obviously, this failed to work in the end because humans have feelings and these feelings lead on to "human rights". Feelings are what makes us human, but they may be the means to an end for us species in the end. Overpopulation, leading to a lack of resources, which may result in the end of the human race. Only God knows.

[jue]

since this kid is going to die either way; would say why not just have him die maybe a few seconds earlier beofer hte 10 minutes is up; have him spend time with his family and im sure that would be what he would wanted also; im sure that person wouldnt want so many people to die because of him. im not trying to sound mean or anything but if he ies earlier; ALOT of people would live; but if died just a little bit later; besides him passsing away, ther would be all his schoolmates passing along with him.

i wouldnt know what to choose if i were seriosuly in the situation.

[rOckThISshYt]

Either way the could would wind up dead.. In the next ten minutes. It's not like he's given ten years to live and he can still fulfill every one of his dreams. It's like.. he gets ten minute to a painful death. What's the point of putting him and hundreds (probably more because it would spread to others) of lives in the same pain and danger? It's only logical to kill him.

[Angel_Cece]

Well...the kid would die anyways...it sounds mean saying this, but it would be better for him to die sooner opposed to risking the lives of all the others who haven't caught the disease yet.

That was just your scenario. With Iraq, well, yes...it's better to be looking out for the future than to blind yourself from it. With abortion, it's life we're talking about here!

I suppose I value it greatly.

i agree. i'd put my life first. i mean he's going to die anyway and why risk others. its kinda a sucky situation though.

[ardck830]

kill the kid???

[sadolakced acid]

i believe it is 2 million dollars or so now...

[sikdragon]

the needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few or the one.

[not_for_anything]

I would kill him because hes going to die anyway, or live a miserable painful life
why should 2000 suffer for the life of one
the 3 muskateers isnt real life
Timothy McVeigh, the arabs sacrificing their life....
lots of people
i would die for the sake of mankind
cause if everybody in the school got sick, they would have to pass it on or die right?

[lickthepavement]

i personally would kill the kid. and as for the soldiers fighting in iraq, i think tahts fine and im very greatful, as long as the volunteer and know they have a chance of dying.

[TaintedDesires]

I would kill the kid. She/He will die eventually and dying without suffering and without killing the other people. For Iraq, the soldiers are getting paid for fighting so the soldiers lives don't really count as innocent lives. For the civilians of Iraq, they are innocent. Same with abortion. The kid you are killing, may become a great person and change the world.

[sikdragon]

Quarantine. Geez, you guys are heartless.

the Iraq war helps every one of our allies not to mention the iraqi people.

[RiddleMeWonders]

Quarantine. Geez, you guys are heartless. 

the Iraq war helps every one of our allies not to mention the iraqi people.

10 seconds is enough time to get the kid to quarantine?

Anway,

Wars make money. That is one of the reasons why there are so many of them. The value of life. It is obvious people want to keep themselves alive. If not themselves, part of them- Some one, or people to survive them. Going off to sacrifice yourself for others, if not a greater cause makes your life very valuable. It is not to say whether or not you are more valuable dead or alive. It's what you did with it that is valuable.

[sikdragon]

Not just him but those that get infected along the way. Actually quarantine the whole area like in outbreak. It worked for them.