I got bored and came up with this thought provoking question:
Would you kill someone you know (you can't kill yourself) to save the planet? Earth and it's inhabitants are doomed to die if you don't kill someone you know.
I'd walk into a hospital and get to know the patients that are terminally ill, then ask them if they would like to sacrifice themselves to save the people of the world. That way, it gives them a chance to make up their mind about doing it, and not me overriding their will.
You know, that is not a bad idea. I think it is pretty good. Any way, I would do it. When it comes down to it I would rather save myself than that one person. I would ask first, even though I would eventually shoot one of them anyway even if they said no. Self preservation is important but so is courtesy.
that reminds me of a scene from 'The Taking of Pelham 123' when john travolta has hijacked an underground train in new york and wants 10million dollars from the amyor who has 1hour to get it there and every minute late the money is ten one hostage will die. the mayor is given the opprortunity to go down to the tunnel, he will be shot and killed- one life to save many others. although rabbiting on about how much he loves his town and community and will be the first to help when in need........he says no. xxx good film though, travolta was brill xxx
Back to the original question I wouldn't because if you believe in life after death then you pretty much sealed the deal for yourself and in the end you yourself is the only thing that matters. and to kill someone close to you as was clarified in the beginning is hard especially when you have to live with it for the rest of your life.
And another thing. If there comes a time where you have to kill someone to save the whole planet then maybe it is time for the whole planet to come to an end.
Its weird but that kind of related to how Jesus died. One man died to save the whole planet from certain doom.
@shkibeta You realize that in such a situation, it would be the most egoistical thing ever to not kill the man, and that you definitely don't have the right to decide such a thing for everyone else? If the world has to come down sometime (which I doubt, but whatever), then it will, irrespective of your personal decision.
@ hahiha On the surface it does look egotistical i agree. but im thinking from the perspective of life after death. if you know what i mean then you will understand my answer better. if not then i understand you reaction.
My problem with this is, it is wrong to decide the fate of the whole planet out of personal beliefs. Not everyone believes in afterlife, and among those who do, not everyone is ready to give up their life on here for another. See what I mean? Even when believing in an afterlife, it would be wrong to sacrifice the whole planet only because you're feeling uncomfortable with killing one person (and by feeling uncomfortable, I also include not wanting a bad afterlife). And tell me, if you were in that situation, would you really fear that your god will put you in hell for shooting one guy? I mean under normal circumstances, okay, but seeing as what the motive in this situation is, I would rather think he'd prefer you kill one person instead of all others. Because you're gonna have to kill someone anyway.
Personally, I consider "you yourself is the only thing that matters" as a dangerous belief, because it can justify anything. Anything. (Also, sharp tongues will argue that not being able to sacrifice oneself for others is pretty coward...)
I agree that thinking oneself is the only thing that matters is a dangerous belief. But i disagree with the rest of your statement.
In this scenario you were chosen and you believe in afterlife. So there must be a reason you were chosen. And no matter what it is wrong to kill someone. So its a a clear question for me so by not killing that one person you are not killing anyone. Those people die because the other person lives.
If you say that its wrong to kill one person the whole planet is made up of many one persons so if you really think about it from the personal perspective it is equal to kill one person versus "killing" everyone by not killing one person.
I think if no one would give up their life for everyone else, that would be pretty sad. There's over 10 million people one this planet (that takes even my computer a bit to count to!) PS: No pun intended
In this scenario you were chosen and you believe in afterlife. So there must be a reason you were chosen. And no matter what it is wrong to kill someone. So its a a clear question for me so by not killing that one person you are not killing anyone. Those people die because the other person lives.
The person you don't kill, will die anyway. So basically, you're wasting everyone else's life. And arguing that not killing him is not killing anyone, is wrong. You consciously decide to end the life of everyone else, therefore you're killing them. You're doing something wrong anyway. You just have to choose the lesser evil.
The person you don't kill, will die anyway. So basically, you're wasting everyone else's life. And arguing that not killing him is not killing anyone, is wrong. You consciously decide to end the life of everyone else, therefore you're killing them. You're doing something wrong anyway. You just have to choose the lesser evil.
This remindes me a bit of the box, but instead of 1 mill dollors you get, it's everyone else. So using that train of thought you could think of it this way, get one person, or get everyone but one person, in that view it looks quite obvious you would go with the bigger bunch.
The person you don't kill, will die anyway. So basically, you're wasting everyone else's life. And arguing that not killing him is not killing anyone, is wrong.
Very true. To save billions with one kill is the obvious choice.
Well, if the person is someone you know and this isn't real then of course you would say kill the one and save billions but, if it were real, who know's. You can never truly know what you will do if it were real. Think about it for a moment, do you really have the mental power to kill someone? What about killing someone who was close to you like a mother, father, sibling, best friend, wife, husband, whatever. What I'm saying is that it's easy to say something but its hard to actually do it.
