The Price of Ethics 1: What's the value of a human life?

Come join us for some informal philisophical discussion. No prior knowledge or research is needed, but an open mind is.

This week we will begin a series on The Price of Ethics, applying The Dismal Science (economics) to questions of ethics. We often talk about ethics with the assumption that we always have the option to "do the right thing," but economics teaches us that our desires will always outstrip our capacity to meet them, and we will always be forced to make undesirable trade offs.

Discussion questions

Subtopic 1: What's the price?

1. Can/should we assign a dollar amount to a human life?
2. What should affect the price? (age? Aptitude? Virtue?)
3. What affects the price in practice? (personal wealth? Citizenship?)
4. How do circumstances affect the price? (personal accident VS workplace accident VS murder, etc)

Subtopic 2: Who pays?

1. If you fall sick or get an accident who should be morally and/or legally obligated to pay for you?
2. What should be their consequence if they refuse?
3. Who should you be morally/legally obligated to pay for?
4. How does your membership in certain groups (nations, families, insurance providers, etc) affect any of the previous questions?
5. In a situation of scare resources, who decides which people get cut off, and by what criteria?
6. Should you be allowed to sell your organs?