Moral choice

[oxymoronic]

So deep down all of us want to kill people, but we choose not to because we might be investigated? I don't think that's accurate.

I do and why not?

[Kurioxan]

Save beloved one.

All a question of personal worth, as in, worth to you.

You dont have the right to affect others lives but if such choice were in my shoulders yes, i would chose the beloved one.
It would change depending how the numbers of people really... 100? i find it acceptable if rather tragic, a million? would save them and then die with my beloved one.

[Zhangfei]

Save beloved one.

All a question of personal worth, as in, worth to you.

You dont have the right to affect others lives but if such choice were in my shoulders yes, i would chose the beloved one.
It would change depending how the numbers of people really... 100? i find it acceptable if rather tragic, a million? would save them and then die with my beloved one.

There's a Kierkegaard quote where he references that humanity is proof against the fundamentals of mathematics - that the one trumps the many in terms of right to exist. I feel this applies here but in reverse. You claim to not have the right to affect others (what does that even mean?) but you're affecting thousands by letting hundred die. Those lives, as a whole, trump the other. When is it acceptable? I pretty much stick to zero, or one in these horrific but fictitious standards.

"When one person dies, it's a tragedy, but when a million people die, it's a statistic.” Stalin. !he utter repudiation of the importance and significance of humanity and, clearly, it's attributed to history's greatest mass murderer.

[Deleted]

The beloved person of course.

[-Ethos-]

Wow, im actually shocked how many people would save the loved one. If i was the loved one in danger, i would rather die than have 100 people die - i'd never forgive myself or the saver if i was saved instead of 100 people.

[Zhangfei]

Wow, im actually shocked how many people would save the loved one. If i was the loved one in danger, i would rather die than have 100 people die - i'd never forgive myself or the saver if i was saved instead of 100 people.

Given your screen name, I will assume you have a background in ethics?

[BrerBear]

Wow, im actually shocked how many people would save the loved one. If i was the loved one in danger, i would rather die than have 100 people die - i'd never forgive myself or the saver if i was saved instead of 100 people.

Agreed completely. It's disappointing how lopsided this poll is.

[-Ethos-]

Given your screen name, I will assume you have a background in ethics?

Nope, was just a cool sounding word from grade 12 english.

[Zhangfei]

Nope, was just a cool sounding word from grade 12 english.

1) LOL
2) You answered like you have and I was impressed.

[Scummer]

I'd rather have a guilty conscious of killing a 100 people I didn't know and bearing the weight with a loved one, than lose my loved one and be alone. The fact is that we are selfish as a people when it comes to these choices, we're kinda biologically programmed to always defend those closest to us.

[Ettan]

1. Saved beloved person.
The others I have no empathy for, I only care for people I know/ have a personal relation to.
All the rest (99.99% of the human population) could starve to death I would not care the slightest or lift a finger to help them.
To me they do not exist atall, so whether they actually exist (lives) or not (dies) becomes rather irrelevant to me.

[-Ethos-]

The others I have no empathy for, I only care for people I know/ have a personal relation to.
All the rest (99.99% of the human population) could starve to death I would not care the slightest or lift a finger to help them.
To me they do not exist atall, so whether they actually exist (lives) or not (dies) becomes rather irrelevant to me.

It boggles my mind that people can think this way.

[Zhangfei]

It boggles my mind that people can think this way.

It's proof people are undeniably ignorant of existence and meaning. His life would be irrevocably changed by billions dying, let alone the angst over the sheer amount of human lives he'd happily see disappear.

Deep down I'm sure he knows this is wrong and that really people actually deserve to at least live. Or at least I hope so.

Most of this is internet "hard man" posting and no real bearing on actual moral decisions. People, I think, are not taking this thought experiment seriously because it involves a lot of thought.

[Deleted]

It boggles my mind that people can think this way.

He's kinda right, though.
It would not affect me in the slightest if 100 random people that I don't know would just fall over...life would go on just like before.
On the other hand, if let's say one of my family members would die, it would be a whole different thing...

Call it "internet hard man"-thing if you want - I think it may not be a rational choice, but an understandable one.

[Zhangfei]

He's right, though.

It would not affect me in the slightest if 100 random people that I don't know would just fall over...life would go on just like before.
On the other hand, if let's say one of my family members would die, it would be a whole different thing...

Read his quote. He added "All the rest 99.99% of humanity" could starve to death and he wouldn't be affected.

Yes. He would. Anybody and everybody would. And you think he's right in that billions die and it doesn't affect you?

[-Ethos-]

It would not affect me in the slightest if 100 random people that I don't know would just fall over...life would go on just like before.

You're right, however many (million?) people die each day and most people dont think about it, but still, some people in this thread need some empathy.

[Deleted]

Most of this is internet "hard man" posting and no real bearing on actual moral decisions. People, I think, are not taking this thought experiment seriously because it involves a lot of thought.

You think wanting your loved one to live is "internet hard man posting"?

[bestpike]

No matter what one chooses he will have the guilt of choosing to kill someone. Id throw a damn coin.

Twoface

[Deleted]

It boggles my mind that people can think this way.

It boggles my mind that people around here believe that they are Bruce Willis. You could admit you are naturally selfish, you don't have to be a hypocrite as well. When you will be faced with a situation like family vs strangers, you will surely go against what you said.

[Zhangfei]

You think wanting your loved one to live is "internet hard man posting"?

I think making the decision look easy and that claiming 100 (or more) people dying wouldn't affect you as the definition of internet hard man posting.