Just quickly, here is a grisly thought experiment.
How many legs is a life worth? “It’s a categorical difference — you cannot convert between the sacred value of lives and mere injury,” I hear you say. But that’s where you would be wrong.
Imagine a long line of people waiting upon your decision. Every person will have a leg amputated until you say, “Kill this one,” and then the bloodletting will cease. How long a line can you condemn to mutilation? if it is a single person, then choosing amputation over death is clearly a demonstration of your mercy. If two people, perhaps they can agree that they would both prefer to be amputees over one of them having to live with the knowledge that their leg cost the other her life. Perhaps even three. But eventually, simple math is undeniable, and a large enough group will readily throw one of their own off the cliff to save the legs of the multitude. This is one way to measure the value in legs, of a life. And your own judgment? Would you tend to assess a higher or lower cost? If you had to have the entire planet lined up would that satisfy your bloodthirsty conscience?
Everything has a price. In our next installment, we will determine the value of a leg in dollars. Then we may convert handily between lives and dollars.
The proper response is for the long line to grab their guards and pummel the sadists who set this up with the severed legs until they are unrecognizable. Their lives then become priceless.
If they all die, they at least deprived the SOBs of entertainment.
Isn’t the correct response to not inflict death on others before you would give up your own life?
I watched a clip of Hacksaw Ridge. The medic had a clear choice. He could have left the wounded and protected himself but decided the others had just as much worth as he did.
People often give up safety for money. Some jobs are inherently dangerous. Fishing, logging, fighter piloting, police work, and fire fighting are just a few examples. Money is not the only reason but it is a factor.