Author:
Wade A. Tisthammer
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Date Posted: 12/28/02 9:34pm
In reply to:
Damoclese
's message, "Utility bill" on 12/17/02 3:50pm
>>I think you may have missed the point of the question:
>>the decrease of pain in the world as a result the
>>death. Suppose in this scenario that this person
>>is some homeless guy who has no living relatives or
>>friends, and that the death of this person does in
>>fact decrease the overall pain in the world, so that
>>the amount of pain done against this person is nowhere
>>near the amount of pain decreased by the individual’s
>>death. In this hypothetical case, a lot less pain is
>>resulted in the world by killing this person. No more
>>getting a certain nasty flu that lasts for 10 months
>>before getting over it, for trillions upon trillions
>>of people everywhere. I know this is very
>>hypothetical, but it nonetheless puts the philosophy
>>to an interesting test.
>
>To do the least harm is a delicate equation. I don't
>neccessarily take it to mean the entire world. In
>comparing the utility of such an action, I'd probably
>consider this one person's death in relation to
>another one person's suffering. So, in other words,
>what I'd be comparing is the ten months of sickness of
>one person to the other's death. Not having family is
>a plus, but I'd view his negation of the will to live
>as being quite harmful, in fact, more harmful than one
>person's being sick for ten months. Now, on the whole,
>it is true there is by sheer quantity, more suffering
>in the world, but the pieces are broken up such that
>the bulk of the suffering is not all in one place.
>Everyone simply experiences a piece of the suffering,
>not mind you, the entirity of the pie.
I am thus puzzled as to what your philosophy is. Perhaps I should just give up trying to pin it down.
>However, I wouldn't fault someone for making the other
>decision of killing the chap. I'm not sure why you
>find this to be odiously unjust, as martyrdom is
>nothing new.
Doesn’t mean it’s necessarily right. Do I think it’s unjust that all those martyrs were killed? Yes! I respect them for not renouncing what they believed to be true in the face of death, just as I respect those who maintained they were not witches even though it meant their death sentence. But I certainly don’t think it’s right for such people to be murdered in the first place!
>Jesus died in a situation not wholly
>different from the scenario you proposed, hence, is
>divine justice in error? What of sacrificing someone
>for the better of the whole?
That was a little bit different. For sake of argument, let’s suppose Christianity is true and that Jesus was the Son of God who suffered and died for the souls of mankind. This was a noble thing in that Jesus willingly drank from the cup of suffering and willingly suffered for humanity’s welfare. Ever see Star Trek II? It’s a similar concept. (If you haven’t seen the movie, do so; it’s arguably the best Star Trek film ever made, and very good movie in general). This is far different from the cold-blooded murder of someone who wishes to live in the scenario I described.
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