Why Should We Value Human Life?

Have you noticed how philosophical COVID-19 is making us? The possible presence of imminent death of so many – true or not – is causing a reassessment of fundamental issues.

I’m not just talking about the issue of which groceries we should stockpile. The answer to that question based on what I observed at Costco last week is apparent: toilet paper.

People are also asking big questions. Like: why value freedom? Like: why value human life?

For example, in private conversation, a friend of mine offered an interesting view of COVID-19. He said, look, why actually should we care when people die in large numbers from disease? Maybe this is nature’s way of culling the population of less healthy people. Happens in the animal kingdom all the time. Why get all emotional and freaked out about this?

He was very serious. I’m guessing you have heard some version of the same.

Before you dismiss the observation entirely as ghastly and cruel, I can promise you that this view is oddly common among people who have read just enough Darwin to get the main point, particularly his expressed regrets about life-saving medical advances (it was just a tossed-off observation he had that went very wrong).

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Πηγή: aier.org