While for someone it may sound a bit sacrilegiously, others believe that the life of a young person is more precious than the life of an elderly one. In practice, it seems to be this way; we feel sorrier if a young person or a child dies than when a person who is 50 or 60 dies.
People have rather a practical explanation to such a sentiment. An elderly person has lived a long life, has seen a lot, while a child or a younger person is just about to discover this world and all its wonders.
However, let us look at this question not from a practical, but a philosophical perspective. What do philosophers say about life and death, no matter the age of a person who dies? Many philosophers believe in the soul and believe that it is immortal. They view life, death, and immortality from this very position. And, since every human being has a soul, it seems to be wrong to claim that someone’s life is more precious than the other’s.
As for me, I agree with those philosophers who say that death means only the end of the body, but not the soul. I also agree with those philosophers like Thomas Aquinas who look at this question from a Christian perspective. God is the creator of our world. He gives life to a new human being, body, and soul, which is the form of the body.
When the body dies, the soul is separated, but it does not perish (Melchert 284). Ideally, it may mean that if souls are immortal, humans, both young and elderly, are immortal as well. I also think that if God gives a soul to every human being, it also means that every human’s life is equally precious.
Many other philosophers believe in the immortality of a soul as well, for instance, Plato. Plato defines death as the separation of the soul from the body, which, however, does not mean the end of the soul (Melchert 142). What is more, Plato believes in reincarnation or that the soul can be re-born and live in the new body.
Plato also states that the soul is supposed to change constantly, it should always be in motion. Probably, in this respect, the life of an elderly person can be viewed as more valuable, because an older person can consciously make a soul move and change constantly, while younger people at times do not think about changes in their souls. On the other hand, such a claim does not seem to be right, because if a young person dies, he/she simply has no chance to make a soul change.
Aristotle is one of those philosophers who do not believe in the immortality of the soul. According to Aristotle, a body is a matter, and a soul is a form. This form cannot exist without the body, the body controls almost all the soul’s affections. Thus, when the body dies, the soul dies as well (Melchert, 182). To some extent, this also may mean that all human lives are equal.
To sum everything up, I want to say that certainly, philosophy is a bit different from the real world, at least, in the minds of many people. If someone dies, it is a great sorrow, but if a baby or a very young person dies, it is even greater sorrow.
However, death is an inevitable stage of our life, although it may be unexpected or seem unfair. If we look at it from a philosophical perspective, maybe it will not cause so much pain and grief. At least, we love and appreciate people for their inner traits and souls. If we believe in the soul’s immortality, death will not seem such a great tragedy.
Finally, I want to stress once again that every human life, no matter whether of a 60 years old person or of a 15 years old teenager, is valuable and cannot be estimated. We cannot judge whether somebody should live or die.
Bibliography
Melchert, Norman. The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy. 5th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.