Materialism and the value of human life.
I’ve been asked: “If we are to approach this as materialism want us to believe, then this accidental happening gives every living thing the same status as anything else.”
Not necessarily. I place greater value on human lives than other animal’s lives. Do I have a philosophical foundation for this? If I do, I’m not fully aware of it, but to me materialism is still a more accurate world view. So why do I value humans above anything else? Because humans are special and unique. Our intellect, morality, self-awareness/consciousness, etc. is unrivaled and unchallenged in the animal kingdom. Because these things are precious, I value them. All things are not equal.
Is it true that rare things are more valuable? I realize value is relative to supply and demand, and demand is related to utility and usefulness (at least in some instances like computers, but not in others like cosmetic diamonds). Regardless, things like intelligence and consciousness are inextricably useful AND rare, so I consider them highly valuable.
Indeed, virtues are self-defined as virtuous or valuable because they are rare and helpful. I value human lives above other forms of life precisely because they exhibit the traits of intelligence and self-awareness. These attributes are rare and precious. And at this point we begin to see tough questions, the lines blur into shades of gray: if we value virtues over vices, do we place a higher value on moral persons over immoral persons? I don’t have a complete answer, but I’d venture intuitively that since we do (at some level) value contributors above explicit consumers, we do differentiate (at some level) between the value of individuals.
Regardless of the answer, and more to the issue at hand, values do have a subjective element, BUT not entirely. If we can link rarity and/or usefulness to behavior or beliefs, then there is an objective element also. I’d say the rarity aspect is more objective, whereas the utility aspect is inherently more subjective.
So far, life is rare in the universe, and I feel should be highly valued. Intelligent life or beings that are self-aware are EXTREMELY rare, and should consequently be even more highly valued.
I haven’t even touched on issues such as pain or pleasure. That adds a completely new level of complexity. The capacity to experience pain should absolutely be included in these value judgments, but that’s another arduous endeavor for another time.
Life is amazing, and beautiful; these are subjective values that are influenced by my objective realization that life is rare and special, and therefore precious. This line of reasoning also leads me to value intelligence and virtuosity over the alternatives.
Nice blog!