ABSTRACT
Many claim that life is sacred. Some make this claim about all life, while others restrict it, sometimes to animals, at others to human beings, or to persons. The focus here is on the narrower claims. There are two prominent strands in this sanctity view – first, all lives have a special value, and second, killing is always wrong. There are additionally often claims made about equal value. None of this is defensible, I argue, outside of a religious context. Contrast the quality view – the value of life varies from case to case, and can disappear entirely. This is much to be preferred. A compromise position will allow that in some respects value varies, but insist that nevertheless some core and equal value remains. This, too, fails to be a defensible view. But the argument here isn’t going to be completed until Chapter 3.
