RE: Evolution in action
May 1, 2012 at 12:42 pm
(This post was last modified: May 1, 2012 at 12:44 pm by Mister Agenda.)
(May 1, 2012 at 11:57 am)Carnavon Wrote: You are suggesting that woman are of less value than men?
He is suggesting that the Bible suggests that God values men more than women.
(May 1, 2012 at 9:10 am)Carnavon Wrote: So you accept that your value is dependent upon what other people think of you? This is exactly the point.
Your value to other people IS dependent on what they think of you. Your value to yourself is based on what you think of you.
(May 1, 2012 at 9:10 am)Carnavon Wrote: If enough people think of you as worthless piece of flesh and negatively affect what they perceive as beneficial for their specific needs, they can kill you – because they have assigned “no value” to you.
For example, if you're a sociopath serial killer who is a menace to the safety of others? I take it you are against capital punishment, then.
(May 1, 2012 at 9:10 am)Carnavon Wrote: You are not far from what Hitler considered appropriate – a small Hitler?
And congratulations on winning the race to Godwin the thread.
(May 1, 2012 at 9:10 am)Carnavon Wrote: Shame on you for believing that your value depends on what other people think of you. You are worth a lot more. A whole lot more – and I do not even know you, but I believe in your inherent value, despite the fact that we disagree on some matters and you have insulted me (which comes with the territory)
You're assuming that other people don't value him really, really highly. You seem to be included in that number. It seems to be a common (though not universal) human trait to value other people enough not to want to kill them for trivial reasons. Common enough that no society would allow indiscriminate murder to be the norm.
(May 1, 2012 at 9:10 am)Carnavon Wrote: You have not addressed my question :” Why should life be protected if it is not deemed to be in the interest of a specific person or society? You tell me why?”
The way you put it sounds more like a demand, but I'll bite. Plants are alive. Animals are alive. We eat them. Being alive doesn't qualify you for protection. Being genetically human doesn't qualify you for protection--my cheek scrapings are genetically human, there's nothing sacred about a particular arrangement of genes. Being a person...that's a different matter. A person has thoughts, hopes, dreams, fears, loves, history, and is entangled with the lives of other people. Such a being isn't to be ended lightly, there will never be another just like it. We are people too, and we share a bond that allows us to empathize with and appreciate them. Sentiment is more than enough reason for me to not kill anyone, and want to live in a society where my rights as a person and individual are protected: and I want that for everyone. Heck, I'm even looking forward to cultured tissue steaks so we don't have to kill cows for meat anymore, because their lives aren't valueless either just because they're lower on the food chain than I am.