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Is it possible that in the distant future, President George W. Bush, the 43rd president, might be viewed as one of the greatest American Presidents?

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RE: Stopping the trolley

Comment comment by gnifyus on 01 February 2008

I haven't thought about the 'fat man/trolley' dilemma in a long time. I think I've decided that deliberately sacrificing another human for the greater good is not in my personal power or desire to do. I have to think that there are many accidents that happen without my witness, so this impossible situation, though in my sight, may be out of my control just like the others. That's not to say I wouldn't try as best I could to avert the situation in some other way; in other words I wouldn't just stand there with my mouth open and watch it happen. (I know the thought experiment doesn't actually allow for alternatives, but we don't actually live in thought experiments either.)

I always feel than whenever we consciously make great sacrifices toward a perceived "greater good", we begin to tread in dangerous territory; a place where we could be next, for one thing. Ursula LeGuin had a good analogous story pertaining to this called, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. For the unfamiliar, the basic premise is that there is a land where all things are perfect, no disease, hunger, crime, etc. The only stipulations are that one child must be kept in suffering, darkness, loneliness and any other awful situation imaginable, and secondly, everyone who "comes of age" must be shown the child and know of the whole situation. The question is asked, I guess; "Is it right to allow this child to suffer so much just so the rest of us can live a care-free life?"

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RE: Stopping the trolley by NomadSoul :: NR6

I agree. Although I hate to do it, I'm going to have to quote Star Trek: Sometimes the needs of the few do outweigh the needs of the many--or at least equal them.

I think it has to do with two things: first, our sensitivity to context--in other words, utilitarian ethics might make sense on paper, but when we're actually in a situation we are much more affected by our emotions and intuitions than we will readily admit. The second thing is that suffering is a qualitative and immeasurable--so the suffering of one person might be comparable to the suffering of five, if we have to make comparisons.

Posted 02 February 2008, Hide, Parent, Reply