Partial-Elf
Eternal Oblivion
- Dec 26, 2018
- 461
The idea that human life is sacred is something that's part of our cultural fabric and is rarely challenged. It is often the justification pro lifers use to control others' actions, whether those others want to ctb as many of us do, die with dignity due to old age or terminal illness, or make certain reproductive choices. From my experience, even those on the political left would almost always unthinkingly agree that life is sacred if you asked them outside of a political context. I have a few criticisms I'd like to make against this concept.
First: Sacredness is a concept for the religious, being defined as "connected with God (or the gods) or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration." For the non religious person, then, sacredness does not apply. Any beliefs that religious people hold about what is and is not sacred should not be forced on others through legislation or otherwise.
The argument can be made that things like family, true friendship, helping others, romantic love, and the creation and appreciation of art should still be considered sacred in a non religious worldview, but I would disagree: there are better terms that do not have troubling religious connotations to them. For example, I would say that these activities have the potential to be a profoundly beautiful and meaningful part of the human experience, but I would not call them "sacred."
Second: If all human life is sacred, that must mean that Hitler's life was sacred, which I think most would disagree with. Here Hitler could be replaced with any more or less objectively terrible person.
Third: It's obviously problematic to tell a person who has been abused, neglected, raped, tortured, oppressed, or made to otherwise undergo a severe amount of mental or physical pain that "life is sacred regardless." Not only do you display a shocking lack of empathy, but you also minimize the trauma they've experienced in a way that borders on gaslighting.
This concept that human life is sacred is an obvious and unwelcome remnant of our primitive religious past. This belief would have been helpful for them at that time in the same way that the commandment "be fruitful and multiply" would be: a people who did not prioritize the continuation of life would quickly be wiped out under such difficult circumstances. However, the belief that life is sacred has outlived its usefulness and continues on only as a cruel and unreasonable demand in today's world.
First: Sacredness is a concept for the religious, being defined as "connected with God (or the gods) or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration." For the non religious person, then, sacredness does not apply. Any beliefs that religious people hold about what is and is not sacred should not be forced on others through legislation or otherwise.
The argument can be made that things like family, true friendship, helping others, romantic love, and the creation and appreciation of art should still be considered sacred in a non religious worldview, but I would disagree: there are better terms that do not have troubling religious connotations to them. For example, I would say that these activities have the potential to be a profoundly beautiful and meaningful part of the human experience, but I would not call them "sacred."
Second: If all human life is sacred, that must mean that Hitler's life was sacred, which I think most would disagree with. Here Hitler could be replaced with any more or less objectively terrible person.
Third: It's obviously problematic to tell a person who has been abused, neglected, raped, tortured, oppressed, or made to otherwise undergo a severe amount of mental or physical pain that "life is sacred regardless." Not only do you display a shocking lack of empathy, but you also minimize the trauma they've experienced in a way that borders on gaslighting.
This concept that human life is sacred is an obvious and unwelcome remnant of our primitive religious past. This belief would have been helpful for them at that time in the same way that the commandment "be fruitful and multiply" would be: a people who did not prioritize the continuation of life would quickly be wiped out under such difficult circumstances. However, the belief that life is sacred has outlived its usefulness and continues on only as a cruel and unreasonable demand in today's world.
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