Why "Sacrifice" Means Loss, Not Gain

In this episode of Reason at Large, I address the question "Why do you use 'sacrifice' to mean giving up a greater value for a lesser value, when the widely accepted meaning of that term is the opposite: giving up a lesser value for the sake of a greater value?"

Toward clarifying the matter, I look at historical usage of "sacrifice," established dictionary definitions and problems that accompany them, the purpose and proper standard of definitions, and a number of illuminating examples.

Enjoy the video and share it with your friends.

If you have a question you’d like me to address in a future episode, email me at cbiddle[at]theobjectivestandard.com.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/HRsArZJRGbA

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Related:

• Altruism: The Moral Root of the Financial Crisis
• The Is-Altruism Dichotomy

About Craig Biddle

Craig is cofounder and editor in chief of The Objective Standard, cofounder and director of education at Objective Standard Institute, and executive director of Prometheus Foundation. He is the author of Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It; Rational Egoism: The Morality for Human Flourishing; and the forthcoming Moral Truths Your Parents, Preachers, and Teachers Don’t Want You to Know. He is currently working on his fourth book, “Thinking in Principles.” For updates on his work, join his mailing list at CraigBiddle.com.

View all articles by Craig Biddle →