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What’s a life worth?
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5faythe wrote:
I have always spent a lot of time thinking about things like this.
Sometimes, like BM, my head hurts.I know people who never think about things like this at all.
Their heads probably never hurt.What’s a life worth?
Depends on who’s doing the estimate.John.
Get yourself a tattoo and a baseball cap – it seems to be a reliable first
step on the road to blissful ignorance. Then get some chewing gum and
your head need never hurt again. I’m not sure if wearing running shoes
whilst also being 10 stone overweight is essential but give it a go if you
find it necessary.In 500 million years our sun will expire. Who’s going to be thinking about veggies, snow leopards (indeed, snow) or free-range hamsters then?
irishwonkafan wrote:
In 500 million years our sun will expire. Who’s going to be thinking about veggies, snow leopards (indeed, snow) or free-range hamsters then?
Not me irishwonkafan, not me.
Good to see Pete quoting the entropy law….heres one for ya, what if great civilizations existed before the dinosaurs and became extinct . Hence the so called “Ancient ” civilizations having knowledge beyond their means :D
The World Wildlife Fund (or somesuch) asked me to donate money to save the
Asian snow leopard from extinction – apparently there are only 43 left in the whole
world (it might be 44). I asked if they had a campaign to stop Rentokil from poisoning
millions of rats.Why would they have a campaign to stop exterminators killing rats? There’s millions of rats as you point out and not so many snow leopards.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Snow Leopards were saved from extinction?
Sure they “don’t matter” on the grander scheme of things, but nothing does as you also point out.
Killing a bull for fun and killing a chicken for sustenance are not very similar.
bingbongbiddley wrote:
Why would they have a campaign to stop exterminators killing rats? There’s millions of rats as you point out and not so many snow leopards.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Snow Leopards were saved from extinction?
Nice? Maybe nice is the right word. I was certainly trying to make the point that
emotion is brought into the process and maybe it shouldn’t be. Who decides what
life-form is worth saving and which is not? There’s been a running debate for years
about whether the remaining samples of smallpox virus should be “killed” (let’s not
get into an argument about viruses being alive or not). If you have to kill the last
smallpox virus or the last snow leopard, which do you choose? The question might
be harder to answer if it was a choice between a snow leopard and a wolf, say.
Death is the fate of all individuals. Extinction is the fate of all species.It could be argued that not killing rats is better than not killing snow leopards
because the snow leopard has not done such a good job of preserving its DNA.bingbongbiddley wrote:
Sure they “don’t matter” on the grander scheme of things, but nothing does as you also point out.
Killing a bull for fun and killing a chicken for sustenance are not very similar.
They eat the bull as far as I know. Is the manner of its death important? The life
it enjoys before being killed is far more comfortable than the chicken’s life.
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