What is Life Worth? A Rough Guide to Valuation

Davis, Christopher

Abstract

In this speculative article, the aim is to elaborate a definition of life that is not biological, and a valuation of it that is not commodified. This is undertaken by the
development of an understanding of death as a process which is embedded in the life of a community. The idea is that we can best understand what life is worth by first
understanding what death means.

Citation

Davis, C. (2012). What is Life Worth? A Rough Guide to Valuation. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 26(4), 503-517. https://doi.org/10.1111/maq.12004

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Dec 13, 2012
• Deposit Date: Jan 31, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 11, 2025
• Journal: Medical Anthropology Quarterly
• Print ISSN: 0745-5194
• Electronic ISSN: 1548-1387
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 503-517
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/maq.12004
• Keywords: death; life; humanitarian; mortality; utopian
• Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maq.12004/full