An In-depth Analysis of the Value of Life: Ethical and Legal Aspects

This essay provides an in-depth exploration of the value of life, encompassing ethical, legal, and economic considerations. It begins by defining the value of life and discussing the complexities surrounding its interpretation, particularly within theological, legal, and economic contexts. The essay delves into the concept of the sanctity of life, contrasting it with the idea of quality of life, and explores the intrinsic value of human life, addressing arguments related to consciousness, meaningfulness, and the importance of human relationships. It further examines the legal aspects, including assisted suicide, euthanasia, and the inviolability of life, while also considering the economic value of life through the lens of statistical life and insurance policies. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of self-determination, the role of law and autonomy, and the ongoing debate surrounding active assistance in cases of end-of-life decisions. The essay highlights the varying perspectives on life's value and the many arguments that surround it.

Value of Life

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
INTRODUCTION
Value of life is defined as it is an economic value that is used to quantify benefit of
ignoring a fatality. It is also known as cost of life, value which prevent a fatality and implied cost
of averting a fatality. Human life is “priceless”, i.e. human being can not bought at any cost or

prize. Interpreting and understanding value of life has issues as theologians, lawyers, ethicists
and philosophers since dawn of time. Issues pertaining to value of life is most sensitive in
economic. The principle of value of life thought is amount which is optimal from standpoint if
insurance and value that needed for deterrence (Banzhaf, H. S., 2014).
MAIN BODY
Major problem while discussing value of human life is eclectic terminology which
pervades debate. Term 'sanctity of life' is generally used in literature and in case law. Sanctity of
life arouse strong religious connotations which do not sit forthrightly with the morden
conceptions of role, purpose and aim of criminal law. 'Idea that only God have power to decide
moment of death of individual'. Absolute interpretation of belief 'sanctity of life' is taking human
life is a categorically wrong and never admissible not to seek to preserve life of a baby. Quality
of life is defined as person's physical well-being, social and emotional and also their intellectual
capability as well as their perform ability to ordinary tasks within a community. Quality of life is
hard to explain as people have different opinions on a 'good' quality life(Kirkwood, T. B., 2015).
Commonly sanctity has tendency to give impression which life should preserved at every costs, a
belief which is referred as vitalism. In view of sanctity of life is being closely aligned with the
religious thoughts. The word 'human' represents something that is unique and valuable which is
reserved only for one species. Every person has it's own value of life, people care about for one
another that is not interesting. What is interesting is the belief that an individual can have
intrinsic value worth about whether it is useful or not to others. Intrinsic values are objective
values or desire independent value. If a person has intrinsic values, it is good to exist for that
person.
It seems clear that many individuals find their life value to be intuitive. People do not live
because they are manipulated to live they live because they think that their life is meaningful.
Universe would be meaningless and empty without consciousness. A world that is full of real
people who have minds seem more important than a world which is full of robots that is
programmed to act accordingly. Humans care for those who are close to them if a person dies
who was close to a person, that person will be upset because that person knows value of died
persons life. It is very difficult to end own life and these kind of decisions come so hardly
(Fuller, M. and Moore, R., 2017).

To live a longer life quantity of life is important. Sacrificing oneself life to save four lives
is refers to protecting quantity of life which exists. There are several qualities of life and these
can be important to explain value of life. All lives have equal value is politically correct but can
be wrong. High quality of consciousness leads to higher quality of life. This quality have local
and global significance. Local level of the consciousness is refers to what a person experiences is
only temporarily with having superficial effect on individual's life. Experiences do not last
longer but attitudes, states of mind and moods can be long lasting. And global level
consciousness can be long lasting, its elements can also have impacts on individual's experience.
Quality of particular short term experience a person has like bodily pleasure(CóRdoba, J. C. and
Ripoll, M., 2016). The value of happiness and pleasure is nearly undeniable based on person's
experiences of happiness and pleasure. A mind which is full of experience pleasure, happiness
can be a better mind than the mind which does not because it can have a high quality.
Value of life does not have any standard concept in economics. However looking at risk
trade- off which people make with respect to their health, value of statistical life is considered by
economists. Value of statistical life is different from value of actual life. Human life is
meaningful, humans are assigned to many things. Government is deciding a pecuniary value to
human life and does not appeal to masses.
In United Kingdom assisted suicide and euthanasia are illegal under law. If a person
assist suicide it is illegal under Suicide Act 1961 and person can get punishment up to 14 years.
Euthanasia is considered as murder or manslaughter and if someone does, penalty or
imprisonment for life can be given as a punishment. As these are against to value of life
because no one has right to take off individual's life(D’Acci, L., 2014).
The insurance value accepted greatest attention in literature until past several decades.
For optimal insurance, basic principle is that it's desired to continue to income transfer to post
accident state till marginal income utility after accident as before. Value of statistical life is an
economic value that is used to determine benefits of avoiding fatality. It is also known as cost of
life and avoiding fatality. VLS is about estimation of willingness and to pay for some reductions
in risks of mortality instead of calculation of human life worth. To estimate an individual's life
there are some methods which are used to calculated average life of an individual. There are
some insurance policies which are made by government to benefit individuals, if in case a person
die, individual's family will be provided some amount. There are some medical security and

policies for people which can be provided when they risk their life or meet with an accident, that
amount is not the cost of an individual's life but it can help or compensate to family (Willse, C.,
2015).
Inviolability of life refers to it prohibits international killing by omission or act. It say that
doctors can not kill or shorten life span of any patient by using euthanasia an also include doctors
can not withdraw the treatment to shorten the life span of any individual. Principle of
inviolability of life, permits withdrawing and withholding the treatment which is not worthy
because it's too burdensome for patient. Maintaining value of life should be self determined and
avoiding some difficulties which devalue types of life.
According to right to life act every individual's life is important and it should be
protected. There are certain policies and strategies which protect the humans life which shows
that human life is important and it should be protected. Every individual has right to live and has
right to choose the way individual wants to live. Certain laws and acts prohibits suicide because
it is illegal, human gets life to live and make experience with both happiness and sorrow. There
are laws which do not allow abortions because it is not their right to choose either they want this
child or not. Under these acts if someone goes against it, that person will be
punished(Cooperrider, D. and Srivastva, S., 2017).
Value of life is very important and everyone should know it helps when performing cost-
benefit analysis. Every individual lives in a different way and has different experiences. The
experience gives meaning and makes life stronger, value and meaning are different from each
other. Humans have carving to valued and known in life and also after death. For a person being
valued can be mean being adored or loved. If a person want to be valued that person should
achieve things which increases value of a person and also the value of life. In a society many
people live and they have different choices and lifestyle. If an individual experiences several
different things and acquire happiness from those experience it increases their life happiness and
happiness can increase life span.
Every individual should have right to live so rate of suicides can be reduced by creating
awareness about value of life. If a person knows value of life it will help that person to gain
various experiences in life. Their are many problems with humans like financial, security etc.
due to these reasons some people assist suicide which is illegal. There should be laws and
person should know about consequences so person will not try to suicide. In some hospitals,

doctors give euthanasia which a type of murder which is against the law. Under English law, a
fetus has right to live as other people, because every life matters even that fetus has it's own
value of life (Setiya, K., 2014).
Value of life is also determined in terms of economic. It is also include that how much a
person can earn in his entire life. It shows the capability of earning. And in other words both
quantity and quality of life matters, as a person lives in a society which give an environment it
can be either positive or negative. All it depends on people how they react to these situation and
face problems. Important goals can be made by people to increase value of life. In absence of
consciousness, it is legal to decide if that person will live or die, because it is not worthy if a
person lives in unconsciousness still there are many arguments regarding death and life. For
example a person who is suffering from severe disability and health condition which has no cure,
in this case life has no value for that individual, and that person wants to die in this case doctors
will give some medication or withdraw the treatment which will lead to death of that
person(Viscusi, W. K., 2015).
There is relationship between the law, value of life and autonomy. There are many
arguments regarding active assistance cases because some people believe that it is against the
law and religion also. Some people have belief that God has created life and giving will to live
that is why people do not agree in such type of cases. Intrinsic value of life is different in very
individual's case, for some it can be abhorrent and unethical and for some visa- versa. Identifying
intrinsic value of life is important for a person. There are many conditions in which patient goes
in unconsciousness or partial consciousness in those cases there are several methods to end that
person's life. A doctor can end patient's life in two cases if that patients wants to withdraw from
treatment or patient's family. In relation to individual seeking to die, if a person condition is
crucial and do not able to bare it in that case it is considered as suicide. The value of life has
importance it emerged coincidentally and repeatedly. It may be justice for society to assert that
people values for life even if that person does not. It gives clear indication to value of human life
in society. If someone wishes to assist suicide, it represents significant process in judicial
thinking (Palacios, E. G. and et. al., 2015).
People themselves give value to their own life. People can create meaning and value to
their life and can avoid things which resist them to live happily. It is not all about quantity even
quality of life is also matters. The way a person values their own life both biographically and

physically is connected to way in which an individual understands as well as values their own
dignity.
CONCLUSION
The above topic conclude that value of life is very important and has several arguments.
Concept of sanctity has developed to encompass alternate principle of inviolability and this is
also provide a limited flawed plans to this dilemma. There is never ending debate about intrinsic
value of life of human. More and more difficult cases which is faced by government are
euthanasia and assist suicide. Only quantity does not matter, quality of life also plays a major
life. Different experiences increase value of life as well as goals. If a person obtain good
experience from life it gives happiness and which impact on the value of life. Value of life also
determined by value of statistical life.
REFERENCES
Book and journals

Banzhaf, H. S., 2014. Retrospectives: the Cold-War origins of the value of statistical life. Journal
of Economic Perspectives. 28(4). pp.213-26.
Kirkwood, T. B., 2015. Deciphering death: a commentary on Gompertz (1825)‘On the nature of
the function expressive of the law of human mortality, and on a new mode of
determining the value of life contingencies’. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society B: Biological Sciences. 370(1666). p.20140379.
Fuller, M. and Moore, R., 2017. The death and life of great American cities. Macat Library.
CóRdoba, J. C. and Ripoll, M., 2016. Risk aversion and the value of life. The Review of
Economic Studies. 84(4). pp.1472-1509.
D’Acci, L., 2014. Monetary, subjective and quantitative approaches to assess urban quality of
life and pleasantness in cities (hedonic price, willingness-to-pay, positional value, life
satisfaction, isobenefit lines). Social Indicators Research. 115(2). pp.531-559.
Willse, C., 2015. The value of homelessness: Managing surplus life in the United States. U of
Minnesota Press.
Cooperrider, D. and Srivastva, S., 2017. Appreciative Inquiry in Organizational Life . In☆
Research in organizational change and development (pp. 81-142). Emerald Publishing
Limited.
Setiya, K., 2014. Love and the Value of a Life. Philosophical Review. 123(3). pp.251-280.
Palacios, E. G. and et. al., 2015. Personal self-concept and satisfaction with life in adolescence,
youth and adulthood. Psicothema. 27(1). pp.52-58.
Viscusi, W. K., 2015. The role of publication selection bias in estimates of the value of a
statistical life. American Journal of Health Economics. 1(1). pp.27-52.