(January 10, 2016 at 10:03 pm)Jenny A Wrote:(January 10, 2016 at 9:04 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: It means that something is inherently valuable... that is, valuable by its very nature.I disagree. Most humans value most human life. We've evolved as a social species, so that makes sense, But if Joe is an ax murderer, most humans won't value Joe's life precisely because we've evolved as a social species. Other than human sentiment, Joe's life has no value inherent or otherwise.
I believe human life is objectively valuable.
That means that even if not a single person cares about Joe's life, for example, his life still has value. In the same way that water is inherently wet, human life is inherently valuable. They are those things by their very nature.
What is it about human life that makes it intrinsically valuable? Is other life intrinsically valuable? Why and to whom? Don't make any subjective judgments. Even if the answer is to God, you'll find his purported reasons are subjective.
The belief that life is inherently, objectively valuable isn't one that makes sense to have if you're an atheist, since you don't believe in a God to assign value to it. So I understand why you disagree with me here, and if I was an atheist I'd think the same as you if I was really being honest with myself.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
-walsh
