h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Four questions:

1) If you were able to certainly save a large group of people that included some that you care for, would you lay down your life?

2) If that certainty was in doubt, would you do the same?

3) If your own life depended on it, would you kill?

4) If that same large group of people was apparently in danger, would you kill?

Me: Y, N, Y, N

1) don't know until it faces me.

2) see above.

3) see above. (probably would depend on how I felt that day)

4) see above.

Sorry, Zoomer. Maybe I'll feel more decisive tomorrow.

For me it depends on the context. If the large group of people were engaged in an unethical war for instance, that would no doubt affect my decisions and actions.

1 Y (I hope)

2 N

3 Y

4 Y

But never having killed anyone this is a guess.

Well I must say that I'm talking about absolutes here. For the sake of argument, the certainties are absolute as are the uncertainties (if uncertainty can be absolute). Also I would stress that I was talking about your first response to the question, not a response depending on unkown circumstances.

I should have been more precise.

I find myself thinking of Captain Kirk at the beginning of "The Wrath of Khan". I suspect that if faced with situation number one, I would somehow feel that there was a way for me to save all the people without actually laying down my life. etc.

In short, I would try to cheat.

Of course if an oportunity presented itself to *cheat* whatever grisly fate awaited either yourself or those you cared about, it would be taken. I was interested in the initial reaction to the *Lady or the Tiger* dilemma. It relates to the meeting I had with a genuine hero who had ample opportunity to duck and cover rather than killing and risking death.

Aha, a meaty question...

1) Yes
2) Yes
3) No
4) This is the difficult one. It depends - on how certain it is that killing anyone would save those people - and I am afraid it'd probably have to be surer than "apparently in danger"...

(I intentionally haven't looked (yet) at anyone else's answers.

In the heat of the moment,

1) Y
2) ?
3) Y
4) Y

In case 2), if the certainty was in doubt, it rather depends how much doubt.

If I had any time to think about it, I'm not sure I would decide to lay down my life for anything, but I might be prepared to take rather silly risks, depending hugely on who was in danger.
I don't think I'd have any problem with killing in self-defence, and in case 4), it would depend on the nature of the group and the nature of the attack. I don't see a fundamental problem extending self-defence to cover defending other people.

However, it's dificult to envisage a situation where I would be the sole possible defender of a group of adults, and I'd be somehow able to kill even a single person attacking a group even though the group couldn't defend itself. If the group was so defenceless that I was the only possible defender, the decision about the rightness of the action would be easy, but I suppose it depends how much danger being the defender would place me in, and hence on who was in the group.

1. Yes.
2. Probably.
3. Without a moment's hesitation.
4. See (3).

H.

I don't know. I'd probably dither, and think I should kill but not be able to bring myself to, then people I care about would get killed and I'd feel guitly for ever.

Obvious if I got killed then I'd have less time to feel guitly.

I'd have to say Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes.

Some of that may result from 21 years of military service, but I think a lot more of it is from my up-bringing. Serving the greater good, family and community first, all of that.

Knowing that when it comes to physical danger I'm basically a coward at heart, given time to think about actions and consequences I don't know that I'd be able to act in any of the above situations.

That said, if my child were in danger I would act without a moment's hesitation. My brain wouldn't even have time to think, adrenaline would take over. I don't know if I could say the same if it were Mr B, or a parent, or even my grandmother. I guess it would depend on the nature of the danger, the suddenness of its onset, and whether or not I had time to think before taking action.

1 & 2...not sure. Probably would depend on the circumstances, how long I had to think about it etc.

3 & 4, definitely yes and I probably wouldn't feel guilty about it.

I always find these sort of questions difficult, partly because I want more information & partly because I can only speculate as to how I would react.

1. Probably. Depends just how much I care about the particular people, if I would certainly die, how I would die.
2. Unlikely, but I would still try to save them.
3. Probably, but only if no other way to avoid death.
4. Unlikely, depends how convinced I was that I could save them by killing someone.

1) Probably not - wouldn't be able to tell until the situation occurred.
However, if someone was to consider laying down their life to save me I would tell them to save their own and forget about me.

2) No

3) Yup

4) Yup

The answer to all of these questions is don't know, as it surely is for all of us who haven't been in the situation. If we are talking about what I'd like to think I'd do then -

1. Yes, but would I do the same if it didn't include people I cared for?
2. How much time do I get to calculate the odds of saving lives? I'd probably be indecisive and miss my chance to be a hero.
3. Possibly, in a panic. Much to squeamish to set out to deliberately kill someone.
4. See 3.

I think I'd probably make a lousy soldier.

1) If you were able to certainly save a large group of people that included some that you care for, would you lay down your life?

There is only 1 person I would die for. I would suffer great pain. Disfigurement. Lost limbs. Lost sight. Etcetera for those I care for. But only fatality for the 1 person.

2) If that certainty was in doubt, would you do the same?

No.

3) If your own life depended on it, would you kill?

I would.

4) If that same large group of people was apparently in danger, would you kill?

I expect so.

*No greater love is this...* I envy you.

Here's a point though, if someone is suicidal and gives up their life in an heroic act, does that lessen the heroism? Alternately, if the person or persons being killed are complete strangers is that more heroic than killing someone who is (by definition) a personal mortal enemy? Or vice versa?

Ahhh !!! Now it gets interesting. Give me time to gut my PC and do horrendous things to it. Then I'll give you my notions ...