Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Overview of Happiness and Meaning: Two Aspects of the Good Life
How does society shape personal values
How does society shape personal values
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Value of Life Essay The value of a human life is an extremely personal and subjective topic that drastically varies in meaning for each individual in our society. Some people may only be able to interpret this value on an emotional level, while others are able to place a monetary value on human life. These two perspectives heavily contrast each other in many aspects, but they do share one similarity. No matter which way you choose to look at it, most people can agree that the value of a human life is priceless and absolutely impossible to replace. However some would argue that there are ways for people to cope with the loss of their loved ones. This is where opinions clash about how to appropriately place value on life. In regards to monetary valuing of life, the United States government and court systems have begun …show more content…
Amanda Ripley’s article describes this important point, “Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people say or think or do… It will make or break a company, a church, a home,”(Ripley 29). We, as human beings, have the ability to look on the bright side of life and to choose to appreciate the world around us. This is what life is all about and how we can measure its value. Roger Ebert explains, “I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do...We must try to contribute joy to the world,”(Jones 34). Life is what we make it, and it is crucial that we do the best we can to make as joyful and filled with happiness as we can for both our sake and the sake of others. Without pure happiness, life is worth
Who decides how much someone's life is worth? Is it even morally right to put a price tag on someone's life? I believe that there should never be a price tag for how much someone's life is worth. Every life is unique and cannot simply be replaced. Every life should be treated the same no matter what the circumstance.
In the essay Why Happiness, Why Now? Sara Ahmed talks about how one’s goal in life is to find happiness. Ahmed begins her essay with skepticism and her disbeliefs in happiness. She shows her interest in how happiness is linked to a person’s life choices. Ahmed also tries to dig deeper, and instead of asking an unanswerable question, “what is Happiness?” she asks questions about the role of happiness in one’s life.
Every life is priceless; there is nothing as valuable and as genuine as a human being. No matter the color, gender, religion, beliefs, I think that if you are alive and breathing, you still have value. Many people choose to see the value of people in what they have accomplished, what they have invested, or the obstacles they face, but in reality the value of life is not in materialistic things, or issues we go through, but it is our dignity we all withhold within us. Overall, it is vital to apprehend that when looking at the value of life, we are able to see in a view that surpasses all of the mess ups, failures, and setbacks. That looks past all of the achievements, accomplishments, and profits.
Life, such a broad yet concise topic. A multitude of different people and cultures offer different opinions on what gives life value and how to obtain satisfaction in our lives. For example, the typical “American Dream” is defined as attaining wealth and success through hard work, while many Spanish cultures consider closeness within a family a valuable trait in life. Whether it is family, success, love, or faith, every citizen in each different culture finds what brings him or her joy and does whatever it takes to reach this satisfaction. There are three specific aspects of my life which make life worth living; these include my faith, my family, and the talents I have been blessed with.
What is a human life worth? Most people make a personal choice to value life differently, rather than just thinking about it on an economical mindset. When it comes to death, there is nothing you can do. After a tragedy, depending on if you have life insurance or not, the government will compensate for your loss to aid your family financially, not emotionally. When determining life value, the government must take into account the many factors that could affect how much a life is worth. The way we think we should be valued is very different from how the government and insurance companies believe. It is fair that the government puts a dollar value on human life, we are not all equal. All life has value but when it comes to compensation, it should
After her diagnosis of chronic kidney failure in 2004, psychiatrist Sally Satel lingered in the uncertainty of transplant lists for an entire year, until she finally fell into luck, and received her long-awaited kidney. “Death’s Waiting List”, published on the 5th of May 2006, was the aftermath of Satel’s dreadful experience. The article presents a crucial argument against the current transplant list systems and offers alternative solutions that may or may not be of practicality and reason. Satel’s text handles such a topic at a time where organ availability has never been more demanded, due to the continuous deterioration of the public health. With novel epidemics surfacing everyday, endless carcinogens closing in on our everyday lives, leaving no organ uninflected, and to that, many are suffering, and many more are in desperate request for a new organ, for a renewed chance. Overall, “Death’s Waiting List” follows a slightly bias line of reasoning, with several underlying presumptions that are not necessarily well substantiated.
The exert from Lenior's Happiness a Philosopher's Guide talks about the meaning of life and our happiness:
The philosopher Aristotle once wrote, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” This famous quote compels people to question the significance of their joy, and whether it truly represents purposeful lives they want to live. Ray Bradbury, a contemporary author, also tackles this question in his book, Fahrenheit 451, which deals heavily with society's view of happiness in the future. Through several main characters, Bradbury portrays the two branches of happiness: one as a lifeless path, heading nowhere, seeking no worry, while the other embraces pure human experience intertwined together to reveal truth and knowledge.
In Peter Singer’s work, “The Life You Can Save,” he presents the famous scenario of a child drowning in a shallow pond. This scenario presents readers with the question of whether they would save a child from a life or death situation at a certain cost. After encouraging his readers to develop an answer, he creates an analogy between the presented scenario and the act of donating to a life-saving charity. Singer argues that the two scenarios are ethically similar and that if you would save the child in the pond, then you should be donating to charity without question; however, his argument comes with some faults. The shallow pond case and the charity case are ethically dissimilar due to differences in costs, direct versus indirect contributions,
happiness is found by living in accordance with human dignity, which is a life in accordance
The value of life is a very controversial topic. It has been brought up many times throughout history in interviews, poem, stories, and even class. Many people have different opinions on what the value of life is and what it is worth. Unfortunately there is no denotative definition. It is connotative, which can only be defined through personal experiences and beliefs. Many highly intelligent people have different views on the value of life and express it in whatever way they can.
Placing monetary value on an individual’s life is measured not by the way an individual has lived, but rather the individual’s income; at least that is how society views life. Every individual values life from a different perspective. And while every human will find value in life, those values will not be the same as everybody else. Some people will value life as a privilege and believe life should be taken seriously while considering the consequences in every decision contemplated while others will live in the fast lane with an irresponsible mindset. Individuals also view life differently depending on the circumstances. However, no matter how an individual views life, it seems to be impossible to extract emotion out of any decision. Society, on the other hand, values life by placing a monetary value on a human life. Society also has no choice but to set emotion aside when setting that monetary value. The government will use that value to compensate a family who has just lost a love one. However, some families mistake the compensation for “replacing” the lost soul and become indignant. There are many alternatives when it comes to compensating the victim’s family. In most times, society always ends up placing a value on an individual based on his/her income. Furthermore, while society delivers compensation to families, society also believes in compensation for an individual’s pain and suffering. There are times society should place a monetary value on life, while having restrictions.
middle of paper ... ... The value of a human life varies, depending on the person. Even though as humans, we assign a lot of value to many things, human life should remain the most valuable thing we have. The true value of a human life should not be combined with the monetary value that is determined by the government, or the value of life would be worth very little.
Which in term of individuals’s life is how they give influence to others who live in this world as well. People can’t make life worth anything if they are not interact with anyone. Just like money is not worth anything when there is nothing to exchange. In the interview of Roger Ebert, a famous film critic who lost his lower jaw bone due to cancer, he expressed his believe of the value of life as, “...we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier…” (The California 54).
Three small words can bring inner happiness to me and others. Having the ability to change your attitude towards life and what defines one will create a feeling of peace. Living your life can bring good and bad regrets, but by the choice we make can bring happiness, and a meaningful life. The goal of this essay is to show what credo I live by and what defines me as a person. Having the power to live with the choices I had made, determination towards a goal, and finding a deeper meaning to life.