Would you Die?

The only person I'd ever give my life for without a second thought is my daughter. I'm sorry, everyone else, but I'm not willing to die for you as long as my kid still needs me. When she's an adult, maybe I'll reconsider.

Arcana XV said:

The only person I'd ever give my life for without a second thought is my daughter. I'm sorry, everyone else, but I'm not willing to die for you as long as my kid still needs me. When she's an adult, maybe I'll reconsider.

Click to expand...

Ditto that. I don't think I could make the ultimate sacrifice while my kids still needed me.

Arcana XV said:

The only person I'd ever give my life for without a second thought is my daughter. I'm sorry, everyone else, but I'm not willing to die for you as long as my kid still needs me. When she's an adult, maybe I'll reconsider.

Click to expand...

A perfectly natural and reasonable position. Bad in the "old days", single men were preferred for high-risk missions...

I'm going to wait and find out what Wake really created this thread for, since I caught a whift of "bait and switch" when I opened it. If it turns out to be straight forward, without any "aha, gotcha!" moments, then I might give thought to a serious reply.

Wake said:

Good post with brain candy. In regards to the baby/soldier scenario... that was from "The Sound of Music"? Or "Gone with the Wind"?

I digress. There's much to wonder about the worth of a life and who discerns the worth.

Click to expand...

yeah wake! What did you really start this thread for? I just know there's a hidden agenda here. :lamo

But no, I was thinking of the last episode of Mash. As far as who discerns other people's worth, we all do it. Most people choose whatever is easiest for them.

StillBallin75 said:

I think it's natural that law enforcement, and perhaps military personnel would answer this question a bit differently from others. For instance, I personally wouldn't commit to #3. But I think that when a police officer does such a thing, he or she may not be doing it purely for the sake of that person. It may also involve an idealistic, altruistic, and/or emotional attachment to the badge and what it stands for (to Protect and Serve), and allegiance to the rule of law.

Click to expand...

it's the same for paramedics.

i've been to more than my fair share of accidents where a drunk driver has killed or caused irrepairable damage to someone else. i can't discriminate against him/her. if their injuries are more severe than someone innocent who is still breathing then i will still attend to them first.

clearly the people making these decisions to put others lives in danger don't value my life as much as i value theirs.

depends on the situation. I'd risk my life for people who have harm being done to them... not really sacrifice though. If a guy told me to slit my throat in order for one random person to live i wouldn't do it.

I'd probably take a bullet for a random child or a pretty lass

Serenity said:

it's the same for paramedics.

i've been to more than my fair share of accidents where a drunk driver has killed or caused irrepairable damage to someone else. i can't discriminate against him/her. if their injuries are more severe than someone innocent who is still breathing then i will still attend to them first.

clearly the people making these decisions to put others lives in danger don't value my life as much as i value theirs.

Click to expand...

I think drunks ought to be left there to die. Scum bags.

I'm very happy that our system function irrespective of value judgements -- at least, as much as possible with a system where humans are involved.

It'd be far too circumstantial to say.

Wake said:

But why? Aren't all lives precious?

Click to expand...

All life is precious, but that doesn't mean it's my responsibility to be involved.

Wake said:

Only certain lives matter to you?

Click to expand...

Yes.

Wake said:

What if by your perception you merely disliked the person? Would you allow him/her to die?

Click to expand...

That's not the consciousness I operate in. Whether or not I like them is not relevant to the fact that it's not my responsibility to help everyone.

Wake said:

Furthermore, how could you die for the ones you selected? We humans are deceitful. We have numerous flaws, so why die for them?

Click to expand...

Maybe some day you will love someone enough that self-sacrifice would make sense. A lot of people sacrifice for their loved ones already. They may not be dying, but they have given up aspects of themselves and their lives for the benefit of another.

It happens all the time, in varying degrees. Just because someone won't make the ultimate sacrifice doesn't mean people aren't giving constantly.

The facts are, in this world people have to protect their families and do what is necessary. Helping strangers is not that high on my list of priorities, especially during times like these.

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Wake said:

I have a few questions regarding life and sacrifice.


1. Would you sacrifice yourself to save a loved one?

Click to expand...

Yes. I can say this for sure.

2. Would you die for an innocent person?

Click to expand...

Couldn't answer this one because I don't know how I would react if faced with that situation.

3. Would you die to save any person?

Click to expand...

see my response to 2

4. Would you die to see any of these three escape harm?

Click to expand...

This one was easy to answer with yes. I have a son, and I have a father who suffered serious brain damage. I wouldn't even hesitate to sacrifice myself to prevent my son from ending up like my father.

DiAnna said:

I'm going to wait and find out what Wake really created this thread for, since I caught a whift of "bait and switch" when I opened it. If it turns out to be straight forward, without any "aha, gotcha!" moments, then I might give thought to a serious reply.

Click to expand...

I am so very dubious, DiAnna.

Watch out for my diabolical thread on evolution.

Goshin said:

A perfectly natural and reasonable position. Bad in the "old days", single men were preferred for high-risk missions...

Click to expand...

True, this. Grandpa was one of those men.

evanescence said:

yeah wake! What did you really start this thread for? I just know there's a hidden agenda here. :lamo

But no, I was thinking of the last episode of Mash. As far as who discerns other people's worth, we all do it. Most people choose whatever is easiest for them.

Click to expand...

Good point. But does that make it right? It can be so frustrating asking philosophical questions whose answers will never grace your soul.

SE102 said:

It'd be far too circumstantial to say.

Click to expand...

I deal with this as well. We say we value human life... but to an extent. ...odd. Such emphasis on the humanity of life, yet with such certain, sharp limits. It almost seems ironic.

evanescence said:

The facts are, in this world people have to protect their families and do what is necessary. Helping strangers is not that high on my list of priorities, especially during times like these.

Click to expand...

It is how certain humans behave. Even if all humans behaved in such a way, does that make it right? ...

Convolution.

Wake said:

I am so very dubious, DiAnna.

Watch out for my diabolical thread on evolution.

Click to expand...

Start a thread about feminism, instead. :mrgreen:

Wake said:

Good point. But does that make it right? It can be so frustrating asking philosophical questions whose answers will never grace your soul.

Click to expand...

Certainty is rare in this universe. We know for certain that we will pay taxes and die, for instance. But morality, philosophy, and religion have limitless view points. I've always hated subjectivity, and yet so many things in life are subjective.

Wake said:

It is how certain humans behave. Even if all humans behaved in such a way, does that make it right? ...

Convolution.

Click to expand...

No, most humans behave this way, and right and wrong don't really matter much in this world. He who has the gold makes the rules. (And writes their own version of history).

Nothing up top that describes me.

First, I'm kind of with Temporal. I think people who absolutely say they would do this or that have no way of knowing unless they've been there. In this particular sense, I haven't been.

So, strictly in theory. Would I die for just anyone? No. I'm a person too, and I have worth as well.

Would I die for a well-intended genius who was working to make the world a better place? Yes. I actually have someone in mind who I would qualify this way. I find him annoying, but he's a better and smarter person than I am. If it were me or him, I'd vote for him.

Would I die for someone I've known for a long time but seems not to care that much about their lives, and not be using whatever intelligence they have? I gotta say no. And I have someone in mind for this too. He doesn't care that much about how he affects people around him, and he doesn't care that much about doing anything in the world. If it were me or him, I'd have to vote for me.

Whether or not I am willing to remove myself from the world depends on whether the person I am saving is more likely to do more positive work than I am. That is my criteria.

I don't pretend that I know exactly what I would do in a real-world situation, and I don't pretend to know if I would be able to be as objective about that in the moment as I can be sitting at my keyboard.

But dealing with the theoretical of who I would die for, I weigh myself and my positive influence and potential against the person I would be saving. Because I am worth just as much as anyone else. Simply being willing to die for anyone may or may not be the decision with the most positive outcome.

Everyone being here has an effect. I would try to aim my decision in the direction of "which one of us being here will do the most good?"

Wake said:

1. Would you sacrifice yourself to save a loved one?

Click to expand...

Possibly. Depends on circumstances.

2. Would you die for an innocent person?

Click to expand...

Not a chance.

3. Would you die to save any person?

Click to expand...

Only the Mayor's children earn this honor.

4. Would you die to see any of these three escape harm?

Click to expand...

Duplicate question.

Why?

Click to expand...

Because the Mayor's children are his personal responsibility.

No one else is.