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Selling Organs

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Old Geezer

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Not intrinsically!

See John Galt on committing suicide - it was perfectly moral when he threatened to do it, but keep in mind the specific context.

If the value of what you could gain selling your organ outweighs the value you could gain keeping it, then it is moral to sell it; if not, not. Ie, if you can trade an organ for something that enhances your life more than that organ does, it's worth it (both by the definition of the word, and philosophically).

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Some people give their organs away to help someone they value so why shouldnt it be possible to do it for money?
I think it should be possible to have money as the sole value...(in fact, in the case of .... The qustion Im asking is what values people might obtain aside from money...

"QUOTE (Old Geezer @ Feb 23 2004, 07:18 PM)

Just money???

Money is often not an end in itself but a means to other ends.

whoops :)

what I meant is that there is no pride in getting money for selling an organ... It is the most passive of acts there is. (they physically manipulate your body to put it in the position for surgey then they physically abstract the valued object from you... even less effort than a prostitute puts forth) there is also no reason involved in the act, they simply take the object out.

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What values does one gain from selling organs??? Just money???

Firstly, think ... what does this tell you about my choice of the word value over the word money? In fact, money is only a placeholder for potential value, not a thing in itself. It is a means of facilitating the exchange of values, nothing more. Secondly, think ... "i.e." means "that is", or "that means": in order to find out what I meant by the first clause, see the second clause.

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"What values does one gain from selling organs??? Just money???

Firstly, think ... what does this tell you about my choice of the word value over the word money? In fact, money is only a placeholder for potential value, not a thing in itself. It is a means of facilitating the exchange of values, nothing more. Secondly, think ... "i.e." means "that is", or "that means": in order to find out what I meant by the first clause, see the second clause. "

It is precisely because Money is "only" a "placeholder" that I am curious if there is anything else about selling organs that is a good in and of itself.

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There is nothing about selling organs that is good in and of itself. Neither is there anything about trading organs for another value that is good in and of itself.

Enhancement of one's own life as a rational being is good - because that's just the Objectivist definition of good. Selling organs or trading them where doing so enhances one's life as a rational being is good by definition.

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Why did you repeat the question you started the thread with?

Time to change your value system and emotional responses to reflect the new knowledge you may have gained from this thread (that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with selling one's organs); may have because you seem to ignore it.

"Somehow I feel it is bad" says absolutely nothing, whereas "Based on these principles I think it is bad" is a meaningful statement. Do you still think there is something wrong with selling one's organs, or do you only feel things with no connection to reality?

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I dont think there is something wrong with selling one's organs. But there is something funny about receiving money for not doing anything.

I think you must change your meaning of what is "doing anything", you seem to have a strict belief that one must do physical labour to receive money, but that is not the case. Simply letting someone take a photo or paint a picture of you qualifies as labour too, and these trades are similar to the organ selling that you described as a passive act.

And in all these scenarious you are doing things, you are making a decision to stand still infront of the painter or getting your organ removed, and in this act reason is involved.

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Inheriting a house and selling it is funny?!

Emotional whim has no place in ethical judgment. "There is something funny about ..." is meaningless emotional whim; "... is wrong, since it contradicts principle X" is a useful statement based on principle. This is exactly the same point as last time around, and I must ask why you persist in using emotion and blank-out in place of reason regarding ethical judgments.

What specifically is funny about this action, what does funny mean in this context, and why and on what principles is it funny? If you feel inclined to answer, feel free to use something resembling a chain of logic.

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