Member Since: 12 Dec 2005
Location: The Gaff
Posts: 50979
World Philosophy Day - Q1
Today is world philosophy day ...so here is the first of a couple of brain melting questions for you to ponder
Quote:
1. SHOULD WE KILL HEALTHY PEOPLE FOR THEIR ORGANS?
Suppose Bill is a healthy man without family or loved ones. Would it be ok painlessly to kill him if his organs would save five people, one of whom needs a heart, another a kidney, and so on? If not, why not?
Consider another case: you and six others are kidnapped, and the kidnapper somehow persuades you that if you shoot dead one of the other hostages, he will set the remaining five free, whereas if you do not, he will shoot all six. (Either way, he'll release you.)
If in this case you should kill one to save five, why not in the previous, organs case? If in this case too you have qualms, consider yet another: you're in the cab of a runaway tram and see five people tied to the track ahead. You have the option of sending the tram on to the track forking off to the left, on which only one person is tied. Surely you should send the tram left, killing one to save five.
But then why not kill Bill?
Member Since: 26 Sep 2008
Location: Castleford
Posts: 129
Made the mistake of going on the Beeb's Web Site at lunchtime and unfortunately dropped on this and read the four questions. Was well fookin confused by the end of it. Wish I'd gone for a walk on the motorway.
Philosophers? Pinching a living..............I don't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member...........
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20th Nov 2008 8:56 pm
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