Do things "deserve" to live?
Nothing is deserved; all must be earned.
Why would smashing apart a rock be any different than smashing out a life, when in fact they are just different versions of the same thing?
LOL. That which is different for the couple sitting center stage can look the same to the gentlefolk in the balcony. How we determine similarities/differences is determined by where we stake our viewing spot; i.e., our epistemic framework will determine how we judge these things as different or the same. So, to answer your question: Smashing apart a rock would be different from smashing out a life within any epistemic framework in which those two things are different.
Jon
Edited by Jon, : clarity
[O]ur tiny half-kilogram rock just compeltely fucked up our starship. - Rahvin