Is Life Sacred?

1212 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of behaviour in life

Is Life Sacred?

The phrase "Life is Sacred" serves an important part in arguments concerning the moral and legal permissibility of euthanasia (and abortion as well). Since this claim is so pivotal, we should take some care to see what it means. One way to uncover what the claim, "life is sacred" means is to ask: what is the source of life's being sacred? What lives are sacred?

Some might think all living things are sacred; that the mere fact that something is alive makes it sacred.. If you think this, you are a vitalist. Vitalists place no value distinctions on living things; all living things (trees, mold, bees and humans) are equally sacred. Some might think that it only some living things are sacred. Typically, the privileged living thing is a human being (humanists believe human life is sacred). Suppose then that what "Life is sacred" really means is "Human life is sacred" (suppose, that is, that in the euthanasia debate, when someone says, "Life is sacred" what they really mean or have in mind is that human life is sacred).

Now we can ask: But why is human life sacred? That is, consider the claim:

Human life is sacred.

Either that claim is justified (and there is an answer to the question, "Why is human life sacred?") or it is unjustified (and there is no answer to the question, "Why is human life sacred?"). Notice, however, that if the claim,

Human life is sacred

is unjustified, then a perfectly legitimate question to ask is:

If human life is sacred, why not a dog's life, why not a cat's life?

and so on. That is, if the claim that human life is somehow special can't be justified, th...

... middle of paper ...

...eing capable of self-awareness.

However, keep in mind that, even if we accept life is sacred, it is not clear what the best expression of that belief is. That is, if we accept that "life is sacred" it is not clear what action is then recommended. For one, we can't possibly mean by "life is sacred" that the life of e.g., a rational, self-conscious being must always be preserved no matter what. For if we thought that, then we would think that, not only was euthanasia (preformed on e.g., a rational self-conscious person) morally impermissible, but so too would be hang-gliding, flying in airplanes, driving an automobile and so on. After all, these all pose risks to life and presumably, if "life is sacred" entailed that life (of a rational self-conscious being) must always be preserved no matter what, then taking risks with life would have to be unjustified.

Show More
Related

  • A Look Inside the Mind of Anne Frank

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    Germany during World War 2 was an extremely dangerous place to live and even though many Jewish families attempted to escape Germany’s Anti-Semitism, they were still trapped due to many countries putting a stop to immigration because they were not willing to take in any more Jewish immigrants. Anne’s family lived in the Netherlands. In the beginning of the war, they had to watch their relatives in Germany suffer under nazi rule, but thought that they were safe. As the war moved on, Anne’s father started to prepare for the inevitable prospect of someone in the family being deported, and started to prepare a secret apartment in a warehouse that was owned by the company that he used to own. The Frank family was forced to hide inside of the attic of ...

    Read More

  • Pip's Personality Change in Great Expectations

    610 Words  | 2 Pages

    his past and his family.  By now, the only thing Pip was interested in was

    Read More

  • Anne Frank And The Holocaust

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anne Frank and her family went into hiding from the Nazi's. Her family immegrated to Holland after the innactment of the Nuremerg Race Laws. Otto Frank, her father, arranged for the family to go into hiding with another family, the Van Daans. Two weeks later, they were joined by Fritz Pfeffer (Dr. Dussel).She wrote in her diary what happened in the Secret Annexe. They lived in bad conditions, often with a shortage of food. They survived there for twenty-five months. They were rated out by a person who worked in the building. The Gestapo raided the building. The eight refugees were sent to concentration camps. They eventually we...

    Read More

  • Otto Frank Research Paper

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anne Frank is a Jewish girl who had to go into hiding during World War II because Margot, her sister, had gotten a call slip that she was going to go to a concentration camp. The Franks had bust a move and went into hiding at the Secret Annex. The Secret Annex is attic apartment behind Otto Frank’s business and it’s located at Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam. Otto Frank was not only concerned about his own family being safe but also the Van Daans who also went into hiding at the Secret Annex with them. The Van Daans were Peter Van Daan, Auguste Van Daan, and Hermann Van Daan. They were hiding in the Secret Annex for two years and then all of them were arrested and deported to Westerbork transit camp. If I were Anne Frank I think that I wouldn’t be able to do the same as Anne Frank.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Physician Assisted Suicide

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Michael Manning, MD, in his 1998 book Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: Killing or Caring?, traced the history of the word euthanasia: ‘The term euthanasia.originally meant only 'good death,'but in modern society it has come to mean a death free of any anxiety and pain, often brought about through the use of medication.” It seems there has always been some confusion and questions from our society about the legal and moral questions regarding the new science of euthanasia. “Most recently, it has come to mean'mercy killing' — deliberately putting an end to someone’s life in order to spare the individual’s suffering.’” I would like to emphasize the words “to spare the individual’s suffering”.

    Read More

  • Anne Frank's Life On The Concentration Camps

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    Anne frank was a teenage girl , a victim caught up in hitler and his beliefs. “Anne was born on june 12, 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany” (Herman 1). Anne and her family lived in germany for almost all of anne's life. During annes lifetime she has went to 2 schools one before jews and non jews were separated and one schools for jews because hitler didnt like jews so this was on the many things hitler did along with jews wearing a star on their clothes to show they are jews. Anne was a very fun and happy and hyper little kid. She always wanted to play outside instead of do her homework, Anne really enjoyed playing outside she was very much a huge outside person.According

    Read More

  • Surviving Shadows: Anne Frank's Hidden Years

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anne Frank was a Jewish girl that lived in Amsterdam during World War II. She was hiding in her father's warehouse. They lived there for two years with the Van Daan family; with one child. The Franks and Van Daans resided there for more than two years before they were captured and sent to concentration camps around Europe. One night a thief broke into the building. They were discovered. A few months went by before they were captured. The thief gave the police their location so he would not go to jail for the break in. All of the Frank and Van Daan family died except for Otto Frank, Anne's father. Anne left behind a diary that she used to keep track of their day to day experiences in the "Secret Annex". In The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, she said that "In

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Anne Frank

    489 Words  | 1 Pages

    In World War II, Anne Frank and her family had to go into hiding while Adolf Hitler was ruling in Germany. While in hiding the relationship between the different families grew stronger throughout the 2 years in the annex. It was hard for them, because they had to be quiet and careful so they don't get caught. As time passed, many historical events that occurred outside the annex influenced the moods and relationships of the characters. As you will read throughout this essay I will show you how the life was for Anne and how tough it was.

    Read More

  • Diary Of Anne Frank Essay

    463 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Diary of Anne Frank is about Anne Frank’s life in the Secret Annex hiding from the Nazi’s. The diary shows how the members of the Secret Annex help each other keep hope in spite of dark times.

    Read More

  • How Did Anne Frank Avoid The Nazis

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anne Frank is a Jewish girl who has to go into hiding during World War ll to avoid the Nazis. She had lived with her sister, parents, a doctor, and the Van Pels family. Together with the seven others, she hid in the secret annex on the Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam. After almost 2 years in hiding they are discovered and sent to concentration camps. The only one that survived the concentration camps was her dad, Otto Frank. She became world

    Read More

  • The Holocaust: The Diary Of Anne Frank

    308 Words  | 1 Pages

    Anne Frank was a cheerful, beautiful, 14 year old girl who went through a terrible experience. In the year 1942 The Holocaust had started meaning Anne and her family along with four other people went to hide away from the Nazis. They were put in a small Secret Annexe in Anne’s Father's old work building. For a long time Anne only had her Diary to “talk” to, she wrote in it almost every day. Afterward in 1944 when they got captured by the Green Police and Anne had to leave her diary behind along with all the rest of their belongings. In the year 1945 Anne died of Typhus Fever and along with her other family members except her father. After the war ended Mr. Frank went back to the Secret Annexe with Miep and they found Anne’s diary. In the year

    Read More

  • Understanding Anne Frank

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anne Frank went into hiding during the holocaust in an annex for two years, in Amsterdam, with her family, the Van Daans, and with a guy named Mr. Dussel. Miep Gies and Victor Kugler also known as Mr. Kraler helped Anne Frank and everyone else in the annex during World War 2. Anne Frank kept a diary with her and wrote in it the two years she was in the annex. Anne Frank was a girl who hated to be treated like a little girl, Anne and her mom didn’t really get along well. Anne loved her father very much she listened to him more than she listened to her mom. Anne wanted to be treated like an adult, she hated how she always got yelled at, but her sister Margot never got yelled at, Anne wanted to be treated like her older sister Margot. Mr. Frank is a nice guy, he loves his family a lot and he takes care of them. Mr. Frank let the Van Daans and Mr. Dussel stay in the annex with them.

    Read More

  • Anne Frank: Uprising Of Hitler And The Nazis

    367 Words  | 1 Pages

    Anne Frank was born on June 12, 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany. Although she did not live a long life at all she still had an eventful childhood. When Anne was young her dad, Otto Frank, owned a bank that made their family fairley wealthy. When Anne was about four the Frank family decided to move to the Netherlands because the Nazis were beginning to take over Germany. In the Netherlands the had freedom to practice their Jewish religion. For Anne’s thirteenth

    Read More

  • Anne Frank Diary

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frank. Anne Frank is a Jewish girl that is given a diary on her thirteenth birthday. Her first entry dates back to June 12th, 1942. (1) She writes about boys, friends, grades, and daily thoughts. (5-18) Her sister, Margot Frank, receives a call up for a German Work camp. A day after, Anne and her family go into hiding. Together, she hides with seven other people in the “Secret Annex.” (21-30) During the two years of hiding, Anne writes in her diary as source of comfort and support. Not long before the war ends, the eight are found and relocated to concentration camps. Soon after being sent to concentration camps, Anne and Margot both die of typhus; an infectious disease caused by rickettsiae. Otto Frank, Anne’s father, is the only one of the eight to have survived the concentration camps. Three years after the war, Otto Frank decides to fulfill his

    Read More

  • Value of Life Essay

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    Human life is full of meaning. As humans, we assign value to many things. However, what happens when we assign a specific value to a human life? This is the issue being presented in the article, “What is a Life Worth,” by Amanda Ripley. The government determines a monetary value to a human life, and it does not appeal to the masses.

    Read More

More about Is Life Sacred?

Open Document