this question has been going on in my head for the past few days:

what is the value of a human life?

i've thought about this question few days and the possible answers. one thing i'm pretty sure is that human life does has a finite value.

in the old times, a slave was probably worth a horse or two.

in current times where money is the currency for value, the calculation of the value of a human life is made simpler as it will be in terms of dollars and cents.

why am i thinking all these is that a report from taiwan reported that a female singer accidentally knocked down a nurse who was on her way to work due to drink driving, and she managed to settle out of court with the deceased family for about $300k i think... so probably the family feels that they have received "reasonable" compensation for the value of their family member that its no point charging the singer in court as they already have "something in return which they value" for someone they have lost...
??
so life does has a monetary value, doesn't it? so whats your monetary value and whats mine?