A philosophy question that's melting my brain

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.o0Johnny0o.

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Edited By .o0Johnny0o.

Okay, there are three scenarios.  Answer them as you go along.
 
Scenario One
There is a train coming and it's breaks aren't working.  There are five people on the tracks and the train can't stop in time and will kill them.  However in front of you is a lever that will switch the train onto another track where only one person is standing.  Do you pull the lever to have one die rather than five?
 
Scenario Two
The same train is coming and will run over and kill five people. However this time there's no lever but there is a very large person beside you.  If you push this person it will slow the train just enough so that the five other people are saved.  You yourself aren't big enough to slow the train (In this hypothetical world, you do go to gym post-January 15th) Do you push the fat guy to have one die rather than five? 
 
Scenario Three
There are five people all aged the same, waiting on an organ donation and one person with an entire body full of healthy organs.  If you kill the healthy person, five people will live until they're 90, if you don't kill the healthy person they will live to 90 but the others will die within the day.  Do you sacrifice the healthy person to save five people?
 
 
Got your answers?
 
Well apparently this has got philosophers a bit stumped.  It's the equivalent of a maths problem for philosophy.

 Yes, this is an actual Philosopher and they do smoke pipes
 Yes, this is an actual Philosopher and they do smoke pipes

 
The problem lies in that most people will say yes to the first one, possibly the second and probably not the third but in reality all three are the same question worded differently.  Do you sacrifice one for the greater of the group?  However the 'gut feeling' that most people experience with the first and the 'gut repulsion' of the last is where philosophers get interested.
 
I think this is interesting because in comics we see a lot of sacrifice for the greater good and there's traditionally strong moral codes associated with superheroes, anti-heroes and even villians.  I'd be interested to know:
 
Do our views shift slighty in accordance to our favourite characters?
Do you know a similar instance in comics?
Why don't more people smoke pipes?
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I'maDC/ImageGuy!

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#1  Edited By I'maDC/ImageGuy!

1. No since it makes us the reader more interested in the character's ethical choice and think for ourselves what would we do in that situation.
2. Watchmen...Okay not really
3. Because smoking with your finger is ten times more RAD! Also we're not Ivy League snobs.

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tim2081

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#2  Edited By tim2081

1. Sometimes, depends on how much you like the character. 
2. Every time a hero doesn't kill a villain. Would you kill 1 villain to save 5 innocents? There are heroes who wouldn't. I think the real issue with the scenarios is whether you take action or not, and how much you have to do. The more you do, the more guilty you'll feel. Just ignoring the whole situation might make you feel less responsible.
3. There's an attitude that goes along with smoking a pipe, and you don't get it until you're old.

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Killer_of_trolls

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#3  Edited By Killer_of_trolls
@.o0Johnny0o. said:
 (In this hypothetical world, you do go to gym post-January 15th)                     

                "
you said I to the gym, but you didn't say for how long or how much I can lift, maby I can slow it down with my bear hands, in  WSM 2008 they run while polling airplains. but if a person was to choose in reality in action, he would have to go with it randomly or do nothing instead of thinking it over, but if he does then he's a retard that reads to much comic books to the point that he thinks of  humans as numbers and persenteges(your not LT), or your a robot much like the movie Irobot where the robot decides to leave the little girl to die, because her survival probability was only 11% while smith was 65%
1. no, why would my view in real life change because of a fictional story character.
2.living tribunal has been known to sacrifice millions  to save billions and billions to save trillions.
3.you don't know that for sure, I personally don't smoke, but if you want a relevant answer, it's because pipe is considered to be for older people, and since death rates have been rising..., well, you get the picture.
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haydenclaireheroes

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1. I pull the lever to save the five. 
2. I push the fat guy. 
3. I do not sacrifice the healthy person because 5 people are dieing and the healthy person is not maybe these 5 people were meant to die and that 1 healthy was healthy because he was not meant to die. It is destiny. 

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#5  Edited By Hellos
@.o0Johnny0o. said:
"Okay, there are three scenarios.  Answer them as you go along.
 
Scenario One
There is a train coming and it's breaks aren't working.  There are five people on the tracks and the train can't stop in time and will kill them.  However in front of you is a lever that will switch the train onto another track where only one person is standing.  Do you pull the lever to have one die rather than five?
 
Scenario Two
The same train is coming and will run over and kill five people. However this time there's no lever but there is a very large person beside you.  If you push this person it will slow the train just enough so that the five other people are saved.  You yourself aren't big enough to slow the train (In this hypothetical world, you do go to gym post-January 15th) Do you push the fat guy to have one die rather than five? 
 
Scenario Three
There are five people all aged the same, waiting on an organ donation and one person with an entire body full of healthy organs.  If you kill the healthy person, five people will live until they're 90, if you don't kill the healthy person they will live to 90 but the others will die within the day.  Do you sacrifice the healthy person to save five people?
 
 
Got your answers?
 
Well apparently this has got philosophers a bit stumped.  It's the equivalent of a maths problem for philosophy.
Yes, this is an actual Philosopher and they do smoke pipes
Yes, this is an actual Philosopher and they do smoke pipes
 The problem lies in that most people will say yes to the first one, possibly the second and probably not the third but in reality all three are the same question worded differently.  Do you sacrifice one for the greater of the group?  However the 'gut feeling' that most people experience with the first and the 'gut repulsion' of the last is where philosophers get interested. I think this is interesting because in comics we see a lot of sacrifice for the greater good and there's traditionally strong moral codes associated with superheroes, anti-heroes and even villians.  I'd be interested to know:  Do our views shift slighty in accordance to our favourite characters? Do you know a similar instance in comics? Why don't more people smoke pipes? "

One:
Depends on who you are as a person.  
Personally I do believe I have no right to play God, but I would likely still consider pulling the lever seriously.  
But another problem comes to mind, perhaps this one individual is the man or Woman that cures  cancer and I just killed him or perhaps one among the five would find themselves in a similair situation.  
Theres also the problem would choosing to act be considered murder(Personally Yes) but the more grey area is choosing not to act... Will  I be responsible for the deaths of these individuals. 
 
So I can understand why the first one is a bit tricky. 
 
Two: 
This scenario is flat out ridiculous.  
But again this is entirely the same scenario outside instead of killing a random stranger to save 5 strangers, said stranger is next to you and you discover his is extremely heavy/fat.  
Best option would be to ask said individual, which is an advantage you don't have in the first scenario. 
 
Three.  
Are all these scenarios involving murder?  
Honestly, no. I wouldn't.
 
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DeathpooltheT1000

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#6  Edited By DeathpooltheT1000

1,2 and 3, Nooo, if i do something i will end on jail and that means Gang Rape, i mean i dont want to be raped for the rest of my life, also i am sure that the 5 persons were child abuser, so suck it and die.