Hey, This is something we talking about in class today.... If you had to choose between (1) killing one person to save the lives of five others and (2) doing nothing even though you knew that five people would die right before your eyes if you did nothing—what would you do? What would be the right thing to do? Please keep in mind, that Real Laws are in Play... You are working on the tracks.... but your Trolley looses control, and starts running down the tracks.... You then notice at the end there are 5 workers working on the track. You panic as you try and break but the breaks are broken. You then see a spit on the the rails leading to a guy at the end of the track working. you can turn the trolley and kill the one guy sparing the lives of the other 5. What is the Right thing to do? What would you do? Would you turn the Cart? Would you go Straight? You are now a Bystander... and you are on a bridge and you see a trolley cart coming down the tracks that has no breaks. You notice at the end there are 5 guys working the trolley is about to hit.... You then notice a Very Fat Guy standing next to you leaning over the fence on the bridge above the tracks. You can give him a Push... and he would die, saving the lives of the other 5 people. All it takes, is a little Shove.... What is the Right thing to do? What would you do? Would you Push the Fat Guy? Would you Leave the Fat Guy, Killing the others? Suppose he was standing over a Trap Door, and you where in front of the wheel where you just had to turn it.... Now would you kill him? This time you are a Doctor, and 6 patients come to you... They where in a Trolley Car Incident.... 5 of them are injured, and the one severely injured... Only issue if you are the only doctor who can help them.... You can attend to the 5 all day and save them, while the one dies, or save the one, and let the others die.... What is the Right thing to do? What would you do? Would you save the 5 and let the 1 die? or other way around? Now, take the 5 people, and imagine they all need an organ transplant.... One a different part.... But you remember a perfect healthy guy is in the next room over and they came in for a checkup, but is asleep... There are no Organ Donors... What is the Right thing to do? What would you do? Would you save the Fat Guy? Would you sneak over there and take all the organs from the healthy to save the 5 killing the fat guy and the healthy guy? Now, there are 2 planes running on Fumes.... Only one plane can land while the other crashes and kills all.... you are the control tower.... One plane has the Flight Instructor and the Fat Guy Learning to fly.... The other plane has 6 people coming back from the Caribbean, and the one guy flying it. What is the Right thing to do? What would you do? Would you save the Fat Guy? Try and answer these and see all the different responses....
The lives of the many outweigh the lives of the few. Unless the 5 people are Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Osama Bin Laden, DrMadFate, and Josef Mengele, I would hit the one guy. I would push the fat guy. He'd hopefully live. I'd kill the guy. Save 5 of them. Sounds like common sense. I'd let them die. Where does the fat guy come into play here? Are you just trying to kill the fat guy? I'd save the 6 people.
In general, do no harm. If you have a choice of doing a lesser harm and only that choice...do the lesser. So in scenario #1, the trolly is hitting someone either way...its not your fault either way. Choose the lesser harm, turn to the 1. Scenario #2, Your talking about actively causing harm. This is different as the person standing there is not involved until *YOU* decide to make them involved. In this case, do unto others as you'd have them do to you....you are not responsible for the tragedy unfolding before you, until you push the 1 person over, and you'd never know for sure if the trolly would miss those people. Even if you could somehow know for sure...it is not your actions that cause their deaths, but if you push the person, it is your action causing theirs. Scenario #3 Sounds like you have to say 6 are critically injured ( otherwise how could 5 die by being held back fro treatment for a bit...) If they would die without treatment I consider all critical and then its simple you triage as many as you can, in that case the worst off usually gets neglected as saving the most lives matters in this case. Scenario #4 Is the same as #2, it is not your place to play god and decide to take a person not involved in the situation and involve them. So you do nothing, as there is nothing you could do without causing harm, and the idea here is to not cause harm, prevent if you can but don't be the cause. Lives of the many only trump the few when its a choice you make knowing that no matter what you do, lives are lost. when life goes on for one set, you can't arbitrarily decide to take that life for others, regardless of the numbers. Cheers
1 Question: Both are horrible but still you have to choose to "kill" either 1 or 5. Then I would probelly go turn the Trolley, but then I would probelly go against the law cause I choosed to kill him, and it wouldnt be a accident as it would be if I went into the 5. But then you have to choose. Jail and kill 1, or just kill 5 by an accident and probelly slip out of jail. In my case I would choose to suffer the outcome of killing one cause I could not stand my life if I killed 5 people when I could have choosed to killed 1. To hard question for me tho D: 2 Question: Here is the same thing over again. But in this case I could chose to sacrifice myself instead of the fat guy. I thinking like if I would like go where the fat guy would fall I would save all 6 for my life. Cause I dont think I could even stand out again with seeing 1 or 5 people die. But, in the heat of the moment I would probelly kill the fat guy cause I dont think I could just jump out myself xD. Edit: If it was the trap door thing I think I would just kill the fat guy cause I wouldnt think of anything else cause I cant sacrifice myself and then again I have to choose between a 5-1 ratio, and thats pretty easy. 3 Question: Since it's only 6 people that only I can save, since to save 5 would be better then just 1 I would probelly save 5 cause the ratio would be better. But then could it be a way around to save them all? I dont think so... If I'm the only one there I can't really get help with the last one. But maybe on of the injured is a Docter and when I have saved him he maybe could start working on the last one. But still hard to say, but 5 - 1 ratio is better. 4 Question: This one I think is easy, cause the question doesnt say they are in need of the organs directly. So then I would let the healthy man live and wait for maybe donations from close family to the injured people. But then I thinking, if they wouldnt get any donations what should I do. The best option for the most people would be to take from the healthy. But that wouldnt seem fair since he have done good in his life and shouldnt suffer cause someone else need help. So I would wait to hope for donations or something and in the worst case let the 5 die and then tell I couldnt do anything. When I'm answering to all these question I feel so mean cause I always make someone suffer.. D:
In the 5 question... Hrm. I would feel like I have to choose of the ratio again. But then I have to kill someone. AGAIN. So I think I would just bale out of there and say that my shift was over at the Control Tower and blame the one who came next. D: I'm so meeean D:.
I have to ask, why the obsession with the 1 versus 5 being fat? Weight does not = worth in either direction
To see how this effects people's decision making among other things in general.(I assume this isn't my thread)
