Value of Life Essay

Should people put the value of life into monetary value or should life be kept solely as an emotional quantity? People and societies throughout the ages have been trying to answer the problem of putting the value of life into terms of dollar bills. The ancient Egyptians buried their dead with all of their worldly belongings. They believed a person’s monetary worth on Earth was over, and they should take all of that earthly worth with them to the afterlife. Modern day Americans are different from the Egyptians. Today people believe that the families of the dead should be compensated for “their” loss.

Should we as a society set a monetary value on life, or let it exist on an emotional level? Are the accomplishments we achieve and the money we make throughout our lifetime the only things that determine what our life is worth after death; or should it be based on the value that the individual put upon their own experiences. In contemporary American Society, this question remains to be asked when someone loses their life. In the excerpt from Chris Jones’ “Roger Ebert: The Essential Man” The struggles which Ebert Endures, and the high value he remained to keep on his own life was revealed, which displayed his own personal value of life and how it is precious throughout the conflict. I agree with this mentality completely, because one’s circumstances may outweigh another’s, meaning that there is

Everyone has been led to believe that all lives are equal, and they are however, in terms of monetary value, lives are not equal. Aside the ethics about assigning value to the live it is still done. The justice system tries to resolve this loss by using unjust means. Life should not be given a value in any sort of currency, it is is not right as there is no way to put a price on something as priceless as life. Even if the life of a person is affected by an illness, their worth should not be decreased. All lives are equal, some people need more help than others and it should be given if and when deserve such help. The value of life has been contemplated throughout history, such as Shakespeare's (1599) play, hamlet; in which Hamlet’s

When it comes to the topic of the value of life. Most of us will readily agree that there is no amount of money that can equal the loss for a loved one.. Where this agreement usually ends however, is on the question of whether or not the government has the right to assign a dollar value on the human life. While some are convinced that a dollar value is enough other believe that there is no dollar value that can compensate for their lost loved one. Society should base the value of life based on that person's future income in expected life to live.

Many people such as lawyers, judges, etc. go along with the legislative view of worth through finances, one of the individuals was Kenneth Feinberg. Mr. Feinberg believed in the financial worth until he was assigned to cases associated with September eleventh 2001 where he was measuring each payment towards the families with deceased and/or injured members. In the article he wrote called “What is the Value of Human Life” he states that before September eleventh “I had always accepted that no two lives were worth the same in financial terms.” However, when consoling the families, many would argue about the worth of their loss that it should be equal among all people and a worth should not be based solely on financial rates. To the families he would state “I gave the standard legal argument that I was not evaluating the intrinsic moral worth of any individual. I was basing my decision on the law, just as juries did every day.” However this would not appease the families and he started understanding their view point. After September eleventh he stated “I felt it would make more sense for Congress to provide the same amount of public compensation to each and every victim — to declare, in effect, that all lives are equal.” Congress however decided to continue the same practice and with that Mr. Feinberg put together his own development where everyone would get the same

The Human life calculator judges an individual’s life value according to the amount of money we make in our lives. To me what judges someone’s life is how many good memories did they have. A good example would be this line from the article, “What is a life worth”, “My lifetime’s memories are what I have brought home from the trip.” This statement basically explains how life isn’t all about how much income we receive but good memories we create. A calculator shouldn’t dissuade someone to not appreciate their

What is your life worth to you? How do you assess value in your life? These might be questions you’ve thought about before, or they may not be. Do you view your worth as a dollar estimate or do you look at your value on emotional terms? In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, we see a very contemptuous outlook on life, from an emotional standpoint. Rather than overcoming his troubles, he wallows in his own heartache. Compared to the actions of Roger Ebert and Steve Jobs, Hamlet is a foil. In times of tragedy it is important to realize what truly matters to you, and not what seems to be important for the moment. We come to understand this critical concept through Ebert and Jobs. Not only that, but we also come to realize the idea of assigning value to someone’s life from a financial standpoint is unjust, because our true value lies within the relationships we develop and the legacy we leave behind.

What is the meaning of life? Well known Greek philosphers such as Socrates and Plato believed that our purpose in this life was to gain knowledge in preparation for the next life. Other Philosophers such as Epicurus believed that pleasure is the main goal in life. After giving these ideas lots of thought, I have come to my own conclusion that the true meaning of life is far more complex than either of these; far too complex for any human to fully comprehend. In fact these two different philosophies are only part of the grand picture. If it were that easy for men to figure out our lives wouldn't be so messed up now. The meaning of life revolves around many different things. I

Values are those things that are important, meaningful and valued by an individual, a group of people, or an organization. Whether we are aware of them or not, every individual has his or her core set of values, which consist of many different kinds of values. Each individual’s value system is different from one another because individual’s values are built up through one’s life experience, environment, and family background.  Values are important to us because they reflect our personal moral standards, shape our behavior, and guide us through long life journeys.  Since we live in a highly connected society, each person’s value system does not only affect one’s own life, but also affects many other people and the

This Essay is to explain the Army Values and how they pertain to the mistake I made. In the US army we are taught to live by the 7 army values.   They are broken down to us in the acronym ‘LDRSHIP’.   Loyalty “Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. constitution, the Army, and other soldiers.”   Duty   “Fulfill your obligations.”   Respect   “Treat people as they should be treated.”   Selfless Service   “Put the welfare of the nation, the Army and your subordinates above your own.”   Honor  “Live up to the army values.” Integrity   “Do what’s right legally and morally.” and Personal Courage   “Face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral).”   We are all drilled on these 7 army values from day one of basic training.   First we

Though our society has adapted and developed, inequality remains prevalent all around the world. Our society assigns value to human live based on ethnicity and gender. Currently around the world there are over 30 million slaves in which 60,000 are in the United States. Even though slavery has been abolished in nearly every country many people still measure the value of individuals in cents and dollars. Should life be calculated in terms of money? How should we as a society assign value to a persons life? I personally believe that you can't assign a price to someones life and you shouldn’t It’s both politically and morally unjust.

The abstract idea of life cannot be explained by such simple ideas as being animated, breathing, or speaking. Ordinary machines in this century can perform all of these basic functions. The quandary with defining death is not as abstract and elusive as that of life. The problem of defining life and death has plagued philosophers and the religious bodies for thousands of years for one reason; each philosophy or religion has tried to define the meaning of life and death from only their certain perspective. The seemingly appropriate approach to this problem would be to understand the ideas presented in various philosophies and religions and through this knowledge create a new definition for each idea of life

     I can remember as a child always asking myself the “why” questions of life. What is the purpose of life? Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? Why do certain things happen? And is there really a God? I had always kept these questions to myself and eventually pushed them out of my mind altogether. I was raised in a Christian household and you just were not allowed to ask questions of that nature and doubt the faith. The world is the way it is because God made it that way and that is all there is to it. I was really excited to take this class because it would finally give me the opportunity to exercise my personal thoughts and beliefs. I have come to agree with Socrates that “the unexamined life is not

The life given by god has a very special meaning a value in which people sometimes forget to thank or either regret. Many students/adults believe that they are going to be popular if they have money and a good job buy forget that people are influenced by those who have learned something. Also a lot fail to remember, to earn value you must earn it.In today’s economy the government creates a value on the person by looking at the position they are held for. If you look at it from the society’s point of view they believe people should be given value according to what they do and what position they are. From an individual's perspective they judge themselves on what they accomplish and achieve.The value of the individual would

Life as we know it could vanish within seconds. The next day is not promised to anyone that walks on this earth. As we live our everyday lives peacefully, we tend not to think what our mission or purpose in life is. Instead, we think what we must do for that to be a “successful” person. Despite this way of thinking, just think for a second. What makes life meaningful? What is life anyway? These questions dive right into the heart of the philosophical, psychological, and the biological aspects of life and what the true meaning of life is. This is a very arguable topic due to every person’s different perspective on life and what it means to them. In summary, I personally think that life is simply what you make of it and each person’s accomplishments has its own merit