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2010-08-02 10:05:37
Flaming_Maniac
prince of insufficient light
+2,490|6992|67.222.138.85
A) You are standing by a train switch, and you see the train racing towards you. On the current track the train is on, you see five people tied to the tracks. On the other track, nothing but smooth sailing as far as you can see. Do you flip the switch? Are you responsible for the death of the five people if you don't flip the switch?

B) You are standing by a train switch, and you see the train racing towards you. On the current track the train is on, you see five people tied to the tracks. On the other track, there is one person tied to the tracks. Do you flip the switch? Are you responsible for the death of the single person if you flip the switch? Are you responsible for the death of all five people if you don't flip the switch?

C) You abstain from voting. The margin of victory was more than one vote. Are you responsible for the victory and/or loss of the election as much as any other voter?

D) You abstain from voting. The margin of victory was a single vote. Are you responsible for the victory and/or loss of the election as much as any other voter?
2010-08-02 10:21:09
tuckergustav
...
+1,590|6198|...

hmmm...there is no easy answer.

A) Ultimately the person who tied them to the tracks is responsible...but if you have the option to save them...then you share a small portion of that responsibility(I hope we are not speaking about legal responsibility...'cuz that's a different story)

B) I think you should choose the path that takes less lives.  You have no way or time to decide if they collectively more worthy to live than the one person so I would go with the numbers on this one.

C &D) I have never been under the delusion that my single vote will affect the outcome..but I have always thought of my vote as a way to cancel out a vote that someone else threw away.
...
2010-08-02 10:27:00
Cybargs
Moderated
+2,285|7001
for c and d that did happen to me at our schools student government elections. at first i felt bad coz my friend lost, but later i didnt give a shit lol.
https://cache.www.gametracker.com/server_info/203.46.105.23:21300/b_350_20_692108_381007_FFFFFF_000000.png
2010-08-02 11:05:46
SenorToenails
Veritas et Scientia
+444|6415|North Tonawanda, NY

Flaming_Maniac wrote:

A) You are standing by a train switch, and you see the train racing towards you. On the current track the train is on, you see five people tied to the tracks. On the other track, nothing but smooth sailing as far as you can see. Do you flip the switch? Are you responsible for the death of the five people if you don't flip the switch?

B) You are standing by a train switch, and you see the train racing towards you. On the current track the train is on, you see five people tied to the tracks. On the other track, there is one person tied to the tracks. Do you flip the switch? Are you responsible for the death of the single person if you flip the switch? Are you responsible for the death of all five people if you don't flip the switch?

C) You abstain from voting. The margin of victory was more than one vote. Are you responsible for the victory and/or loss of the election as much as any other voter?

D) You abstain from voting. The margin of victory was a single vote. Are you responsible for the victory and/or loss of the election as much as any other voter?
A) Would I flip the switch?  Maybe, if I could get the train to stop and radio to the railroad people to stop anyone heading in that direction.  If all things were static, and the train could continue on the new track without danger, then yes, it would seem obvious that flipping the switch is the right thing to do.

B) Kind of like the overcrowded lifeboat problem combined with Sophie's choice...  There is no good answer.  You either watch 5 people die, or select the one that is to die.

Though, for both of those there is one thing that isn't really considered.  You flip the switch, and send the train on to clear tracks...for as far as you know.  What if there is another passenger train heading in the opposite direction on those tracks?  Now you would definitely be responsible for those deaths.  The point is, you don't have all the information.

C) You are not responsible for anything.

D) You are not responsible for anything.  If the margin were truly one vote, then you would only make the two candidates tie...and that is assuming you were the ONLY person who didn't vote.
2010-08-02 11:35:32
Jay
Bork! Bork! Bork!
+2,006|5643|London, England

Flaming_Maniac wrote:

A) You are standing by a train switch, and you see the train racing towards you. On the current track the train is on, you see five people tied to the tracks. On the other track, nothing but smooth sailing as far as you can see. Do you flip the switch? Are you responsible for the death of the five people if you don't flip the switch?
Yes and yes. While I didn't tie the people to the tracks, my inaction would've resulted in their deaths when I had the opportunity to change the result.

Flaming_Maniac wrote:

B) You are standing by a train switch, and you see the train racing towards you. On the current track the train is on, you see five people tied to the tracks. On the other track, there is one person tied to the tracks. Do you flip the switch? Are you responsible for the death of the single person if you flip the switch? Are you responsible for the death of all five people if you don't flip the switch?
More information needed to make this call. Is the President the one and five dirty hippies the others? My decision would fully depend on how I value the group vs the individual. However, if further information can not be gathered, the choice would be to save the five vs the one.

Flaming_Maniac wrote:

C) You abstain from voting. The margin of victory was more than one vote. Are you responsible for the victory and/or loss of the election as much as any other voter?
No. Abstaining is as much a relevant choice as picking between two candidates.

Flaming_Maniac wrote:

D) You abstain from voting. The margin of victory was a single vote. Are you responsible for the victory and/or loss of the election as much as any other voter?
Same as C. You bear no responsibility in either case.
"Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough."
-Frederick Bastiat

 

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