Is it morally right to kill that person?: Philosophy Forums

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Is it morally right to kill that person?

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Is it morally right to kill that person?

Baron Max
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Posted 07/15/02 - 06:23 PM:	#41
Originally posted by alex ander baron max there is one thing i don't understand: why is it that you are not "really" (this 'really' is bit obscure) responisble for the death of any of these people that are shot. Alex, I agree that it's obscure! However, I also have mixed feeling about a person being forced or coerced in such a way ...i.e., was it really his choice? In that vein is where I have some minor difficulty with the morality of this and many such situations. Can you be FORCED into making a choice and still call it your own free will? I don't think so ... well, like, I don't know! Baron, you've given me an idea. What if your mother, sibling, girlfriend, or wife were one of the 30. The general told you kill your loved one, or the other 29. I dont know if I could shoot my mom. I Know(the name!), if I were forced into that situation, I'd kill the other 29 ... for me, there would be no hesitation. Now whether or not I could ACTUALLY, PHYSICALLY do it is another story altogether. I could kill a murderer or violent rapist, but just to up and shoot someone?? Geez, I don't know. When we put in personal feelings into the situation it becomes all the more realistic, but, unfortunately, all the more difficult to arrive at an answer. Luke, I don't think these are all that damned difficult. If my mom shot the 29 to save me, I'd thank her for it! See? Its a matter of "value" ... people, all people, have some "value" to you. You may not WANT to admit it, but its true. In that regard, decisions like this are simple. Someone people try to make it a moral/ethical discussion and thats bullshit ... morals and ethics all change in these PERSONAL situations. And thats why lots of people say things like "Personal points like that aren't fair!" ..... well, what it does is FORCES people to make it personal. And, IMHO, if one can't accept their own ethical decisions in a personal situation, they're just jerkin' off at the mouth! Baron Max

Baron Max
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Posted 07/15/02 - 06:35 PM:	#42
Originally posted by Broken Hero The original question is what would you do in XYZ situation, you added the wife/son issue of which my ethics are different, because of emotional attachment. An thats exactly the problem ... we can sit here and type a bunch of bullshit about ethics, but its only for everyone else, not for ourselves or in personal situations. Well, welcome to the real world! And its not about whether one can ACTUALLY do it or whether they can live with it afterwards ... if your ethics aren't strong enough to make such personal ethical decisions, you sure as hell shouldn't be telling others about THEIR ethics. See what I mean? Well, if you must know, I would kill the other 29 to see my wife or child live. I do feel better! Thank you ... perhaps I'll see you at the next ethics question, huh? If someone asked me, either you shoot Baron Max or we will kill your son, well Baron, you would be missed... See? Its really not so difficult, is it? ...and I seriously doubt if I'd be missed. ...LOL! Baron Max

Broken Hero
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Posted 07/15/02 - 06:55 PM:	#43
And its not about whether one can ACTUALLY do it or whether they can live with it afterwards ... if your ethics aren't strong enough to make such personal ethical decisions, you sure as hell shouldn't be telling others about THEIR ethics. See what I mean? Oh I agree with you there, I was under the impression that the poster wanted to know what I would do in XYZ situation. Now as to what you Baron should do is........try and rescue all 30 people sacrificing yourself for the group if need be. Me on the other hand well....its different (j/k) I can only answer for myself, as for others, well they have always done as they pleased anyway. Indeed we as humans are "righteous in our own eyes". And yeah I will probably see you on another ethics post, these kinds of things are thought provoking, and not a waste of time like spending endless hours of playing Diablo II with your barbarian, whos name is Grindill by the way. Dang gotta go!! Its D2 time!!

John 3
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Posted 07/18/02 - 04:56 AM:	#44
While I was raised on a Christian value system I have never actually believed in any deity. I have always been a firm believer that all truth will be revealed to us at one point empiricly. But think about Jesus's words -- "love your enemy" and "turn the other cheek". Of course he is speaking under the impression that there is an after-life... But.. Are these words at all wise in our present world? Can anyone come up with a moral (or logical) argument AGAINST his statements above?

Lukesky520
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Posted 07/18/02 - 08:38 AM:	#45
Baron, I believe that you misinterprited (<--Spelled wrong) my post. I was commenting of the scenerio that I started in the post itself, not on the previous post. I was saying how could one person standing in the 30 feel if somone shot their mother. Even worse, if it were their aunt.

Distortion
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Posted 07/18/02 - 03:51 PM:	#46
John 3, I can quite easily think of a logical argument against "love your enemy" and "turn the other cheek". Simply, if you do that, your enemy might kill you. If you're dead, then these words no longer seem so wise, as far as I can tell. -Distortion
Make your own rules.

Baron Max
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Posted 07/18/02 - 04:52 PM:	#47
Originally posted by distortion John 3, I can quite easily think of a logical argument against "love your enemy" and "turn the other cheek". Simply, if you do that, your enemy might kill you. If you're dead, then these words no longer seem so wise, as far as I can tell. Well, ....seems pretty wise from your enemy's perspective, don't it? Baron Max

LindaKat
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Posted 08/10/02 - 01:25 AM:	#48
Well at first I thought I would shot the officer in charge reasoning that he would obviously deserve to die more than the innocent villagers, but I was thinking the remaining regime would kill all villagers and me and then trying kill the rest of the army would be unlikely since I am really bad at aiming and I probably wouldn’t have enough bullets to try anyway, so I guess I have to shot myself there no way that I could live with that kind of guilt anyway.

ChrisNA
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Posted 08/10/02 - 10:08 AM:	#49
I see this is an old post dragged up, but ill asnwer it anyway. I dont belive in a set of morals when it comes down to kill or be killed. I would have to shoot the most useless worthless person there and save the other 29. I wouldnt shoot myself, self preservation exceeds all. Sucks for that one person, but im not about to let 29 die just because "I belive killing someone is wrong".

LindaKat
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Posted 08/12/02 - 01:26 PM:	#50
There seems to be an insistence on choosing from two options Choice A: “if you don’t shot all thirty people will die” In my opinion I could not simply walk away, and let someone do something that I would consider a horrendous and evil act. I would leave an impression that I did not care whether innocent lives were lost. Choice B: “if I shot, only one has to die” Yes, only one person dies but then to have to guess who has more right to live is simply wrong in my opinion and to do it in front of their families then I would be doing the same horrendous and evil act, just in lesser form. I leave the impression that I did not value an innocent life. This is not a mathematical problem where those are you only answers, this is a life decision problem where there is many choices. To try to limit someone’s decisions on this is simply silly. I would try this first: First of all, I'd try to reason with the guy and let them all go free. If that failed.... I'd try to pay the guy some money to let them go. If that failed.... If that did not work then I would shot myself even though I do value myself too, and this is why: If you had to shot one of the villagers in front of their family then I have set an example that I think killing an innocent life is ok and the fact that I would have to trust that the army would not kill them later on? Their family members, well I would be killing a part of them too. Looking through their eyes feeling what they would be feeling is unconceivable. Hoping that I won’t kill their father, mother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa, and so on. My feeling on this is that I would be one of the villagers because I thought what they were doing was wrong its like asking me to shot one of my own family members and of course I would say this. I am assuming that the general thinking for the army that they really did not care who lived are died or really which person was shot and it would be a matter of weeks or even days before they kill the rest. Obviously to be put in that kind of situation for their sadistic curiosity of what the outcome would be and of if I shot someone that I would help justify their action and I would be considered one of them. If there was a chance that even one person escaped the village and knew that I would valued their life more than my own and the fact that not the whole world was filled with people that unfortunately took control of their village. The reason I feel that people dodge or skirt around choice A or B is a natural and learned respect for human life.

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