PTSD

To push or not to push...

the fat man?

Let me follow E's esoteric post on the Doctor with some old-fashioned flogging of news from my favourite site (the Beeb, as yous should know by now). It has an article on various thought experiments about ethical issues. There's a poll attached to each one and yous can play around and see what you and other people think about killing (some) people to save others.

I actually enjoyed most of them, especially no. 3, and realised I'm (unsurprisingly) a selfish coward quite willing to push fat men on to train tracks (or blast them into smithereeens) if that meant saving my life, even if only for a short time. Of course, yous of nimble wit will say (write): all this misses out on context(s). True but it's good fun anyway to see the poll results. Speaking personally, I reckon I'd find it fairly easy to sacrifice a doddering old man or a nasty asbo lad than a pregnant woman or a small child, especially if family/(some) friends are involved among those being saved. Oh, and me. I'd probably push anyone off ledges/bridges to save me.

The experiments (there're four of them) are short to read and vote on. The choices are limited to yes or no (so there's no in-between). The last one's about blowing up (or not) a guy called Big Jack. I guess I'm the only PTSD reader who will find the name Big Jack enjoyable (it was the nickname for Jack Charlton, who used to manage the Irish football team during the 1990 and 1994 World Cups. He was also a member of the 1966 English World Cup-winning team). I think I'd have a more difficult time blowing him up in the cave rather than pushing the (nameless) fat man on to the trolley tracks.

posted by Priya @ 12:05 AM