Another "Divert the Train" Moral Philosophy Question

[911840]

Re: Another "Divert the Train" Moral Philosophy Question

why must we assume that the little girl will grow up, have kids, and be and be a healthy member of society? for all we know she could whore around and do nothing but spread HIV...

my vote is that the girl dies...200 people would be connected to too many other people for it to be worth the risk...

[The_Q]

Re: Another "Divert the Train" Moral Philosophy Question

In light of new information i think i would let the men live because while you cant weight the amount of a life to another one, you can definitely sacrifice one for the good of many.

The point of this exercise is to demonstrate that not only can you weigh lives against each other but to teach you how. I took the road of "which would cause the greatest benefit to the individuals involved?," which is typically the correct question to ask. When abstract concepts such as "the whole" and "the people" get involved, the answer tends to become obscure. When you think of the benefit received by each individual and add that up, you can get something entirely different from what is good for "the whole" (see Leaf-Blowers).

Also, the argument that the 200 men would be more of a burden on the health care system is simply irrelevant. If we assume a lack of universal health care (as it should be), then there is no burden except to the individual or the insurance company. In either case, health care is taken care of or adjusted based on demand, not resources. Resources will be produced and allocated properly based on how they sell. Involving bureaucracy and government only worsens the situation (see waiting lists for Canadian health care). If anything, by living the men benefit their hometowns by allocating more HIV resources to where they might be needed.

Q

[devonin]

Re: Another "Divert the Train" Moral Philosophy Question

Actaully, as an aside, the -actual- point of the exercise was to point out

"Solving these problems through the Pleasure Calculus is inherantly impossible because the sheer amount of variables you would have to consider to reach your decision would take so much time that you would constantly be paralysed into inaction, never being able to carry through a decision to pull the lever or not pull the lever, because by the time you've decided which you should do, it is too late."