Posted by Mark H. on February 28, 2005, at 20:23:12
In reply to Re: (1) One or Six??? » alexandra_k, posted by alexandra_k on February 28, 2005, at 18:00:38
There's also the legal aspect: to do nothing makes the resulting deaths the fault of the six people standing on the tracks; to take any action that you know for a fact will cause a person's death (in this case by diverting the train to avoid hitting the six) creates liability for your actions, potentially both criminal and civil.
Of course there are lots of qualifiers that would come into play in a real-life situation, but your scenario specifically eliminates those. As a result, it comes down to "do nothing and *allow* six people to die" versus "do something and directly *kill* one person."
In our litigious society, there may not be much room for utilitarianism in this example.
Mark H.
poster:Mark H.
thread:464517
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050224/msgs/464627.html