What gives human life inherent value?

[Soapy Sam]

Nothing gives it.
We choose to assume it.

If another rock drops, humanity will have no more value to the future than the dinosaurs had .

But backrubs are good.

 

[Brainache]

...
If another rock drops, humanity will have no more value to the future than the dinosaurs had .

...

And our fossils won't even be scary looking...

 

[Darth Rotor]

There's no such thing as "inherent" value. Value is a subjective assessment; lives, like anything, are only valuable to somebody.

It is better to exist than to not exist. Therein lies your inherent value. 5 cents, please.

Why are there any further posts in this thread, eh?

 

[Frozenwolf150]

However...this outlook regarding this topic also negates much of the adjectives you use above. If there is no inherent human value...then the human wants, needs and vices you mention above also are not truly offensive. Eating and converting things to another form...simple mechanisms at work with no inherent negative aspects. And finally if humans have no inherent value...rendering yourself "less than human" is a pointless exercise as well. Just not necessary to do that because no value can be gained or lost through that action. You are still right where you were and no blame need be assigned, no guilt need be felt.

I see wisdom in your words, and will have to consider this point of view.

So if value is out the window..why I am relatively happy? Who knows. But I am pretty sure the answer lay in the natural mechanisms and conditions that led to us conscious creatures existing in the first place. These mechanisms and conditions do currently have a general marching direction in regards to life and conscious life and darn near provide a purpose. Its my consciousness of these mechanisms where I can assign myself some type of purpose. I assign this purpose even if the arrangement of mechanisms and conditions in our local chapter of this universe turn out to be temporary.

You might say I am trading "value" for "purpose". But I dont think so. The purpose is just an extension of what this conscious creature observes to be occurring as far as evolution, entropy, statistical dynamics, physics etc. And the observation of what these mechanisms are in fact doing informs the potential direction of my actions.

As you can probably tell, I have great difficulty with self-actualization. That is, I can't assign myself a purpose and then pursue that purpose without constantly second-guessing myself. I've made mistakes in the past and can't live them down. Just once, I would like to succeed at something, to see one of my long term life plans come to fruition, to take a risk without ending up harming myself or others.

 

[Navigator]

What gives human life inherent value?


Consciousness.

 

[Navigator]

Our self-awareness, the fact that we can even ask the kinds of questions you did.

^This and also we can answer some of those questions.

 

[Frozenwolf150]

There are a few things here to which I wanted to respond.

As an atheist, I see two possible answers to this question. The first is, simply, "nothing". We are accidents of evolution, there is no 'purpose' or 'goal' in the universe in having us exist. There is no "inherent" value to our lives, if by that you mean a value determined from or derived from something outside of ourselves.

What I meant was, now that we're here, what difference does it make? I suppose to answer my own question, I would have to look at scale. On a grand scale, each individual human life means next to nothing, and the universe doesn't care whether we live or die. On a smaller scale, when it comes to who we are in society and how we affect the lives of others, our lives matter more. To our friends and loved ones, we matter a great deal. Logically speaking, one cannot compare the properties of the whole to the properties of the components, so to ask if the universe has a purpose for us is the fallacy of composition.

The other answer is "The inherent value of our lives is determined or defined by us". Lacking any external source from which to derive our value, it is up to us to define it.

Do you mean us as individuals in terms of self-determination? Or us as a society or species?

From a very pragmatic viewpoint, we can argue that evolution is a natural process, of which we are a result. We exist because we have survived and evolved to become who we are; and our value consists of continuing simply to exist. Failure of humanity to exist would indicate that we have failed from an evolutionary viewpoint, and thus no longer have value.

From a more philosophical viewpoint (and this is the viewpoint towards which I tend), our "value" is determined by ourselves. There isn't any "inherent" or "intrinsic" value, but rather we determine for ourselves what value we have.

For me, as a Humanist, my "value" is determined essentially by my ability to contribute in a positive manner to humanity. Whether this be helping individuals, or large groups, it's all got 'value'. The more people I'm able to help, the greater the value of my life.

So then would you say that value is determined by contributing to the continued existence of humanity? Also, I know you've probably already mentioned this, but what kind of work do you do in helping others?

Others, I'm sure, will have other criteria. I don't think there can be any 'absolute' answer to this question, there is no one 'right' answer; it will vary from person to person, from case to case. Another answer, already given above, is that our ability to ask that question is what gives us value; no other living creature on the planet asks that question, it is what sets us apart.

True, but humans are also set apart by our unique ability to destroy all life on the planet, which isn't a very positive distinction.

The only answer that I disagree with is the "our lives have no value" one; in the end, from a very logical perspective, it may be true -- but it results in a life of pointless desperation. If it is true that our lives have no purpose, then it can't possibly hurt to create our own purpose...and thereby make our own lives, and the lives of others, more happy and fulfilling during our brief sojourn on this mortal coil.

This is where I struggle the most. It's very subjective, but I feel I have to diminish my own value to avoid becoming a selfish undeserving bastard. I know that, logically speaking, this is precisely what prevents me from contributing to humanity in a positive manner. It's a vicious cycle, and part of the reason I initially posed this question. I've been struggling to break out of this mindset, to no avail. I can't allow myself a moment of happiness or fulfillment.

My friends tell me I'm worth something to them. I have a hard time believing what I hear.

 

[Aridas]

This is where I struggle the most. It's very subjective, but I feel I have to diminish my own value to avoid becoming a selfish undeserving bastard. I know that, logically speaking, this is precisely what prevents me from contributing to humanity in a positive manner. It's a vicious cycle, and part of the reason I initially posed this question. I've been struggling to break out of this mindset, to no avail. I can't allow myself a moment of happiness or fulfillment.

I... find this odd, really, the last sentence especially. You are a part of humanity, yes? Contributing positively to yourself is indeed contributing to humanity in a positive manner... and no one else can do such for you effectively. All you really need to do to avoid becoming a "selfish undeserving bastard" is to keep trying to contribute positively to the lives of others.

My friends tell me I'm worth something to them. I have a hard time believing what I hear.

It sounds like your definition of what "worth something" means may be a bit askew, then. Either way, that you think of them as friends likely already means that they're worth something to you, and I'd suggest extending them the courtesy of accepting that you're probably worth something to them.

 

[tsig]

I have never seen a coherent argument as to why anything has "inherent value" as value is always in practice something given and assigned by something or someone to something else. "God gives human life value", "Nature gives human life value", "reason gives human life value", "logic dictates that human life has value" and so on.

My life has infinite value to me, it has great value to my wife and less and less value to friends and neighbors. It has no value to someone who has never heard of me.

So there's a continuum of value not a single one.