Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/17/84; site mhuxt.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!js2j From: js2j@mhuxt.UUCP (sonntag) Newsgroups: net.flame,net.religion,net.philosophy Subject: Re: Another small question. (life rafts) Message-ID: <791@mhuxt.UUCP> Date: Tue, 16-Apr-85 09:49:39 EST Article-I.D.: mhuxt.791 Posted: Tue Apr 16 09:49:39 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 17-Apr-85 01:13:32 EST References: <1521@decwrl.UUCP> <5426@utzoo.UUCP>, <736@mhuxt.UUCP> <5449@utzoo.UUCP>, <259@h-sc1.UUCP> <5466@utzoo.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill Lines: 26 Xref: watmath net.flame:9294 net.religion:6660 net.philosophy:1658 > Jeff to survive. He has to make the same decision. Assuming that > neither of us are responsible for the fact that we are in such > dire straights (ie if I blew up the ocean liner we had been on), > and assuming that I am not going to die anyway (killing Jeff is no > good if I am dying of gangrene, rather than, say starving to death), > and assuming that Jeff is not one of those extremely rare people whose > life I value as I value my own life - then I am morally obliged to > kill Jeff. He is likely to be morally obliged to kill me. Actually, I hope I'd starve to death before murdering anyone. But if it were somehow certain the both of us couldn't survive, I might propose that we dice for survival. > > Whether I could actually do it is another story. I suspect that I > would believe that it was not necessary for me to kill Jeff until > it was too late -- I would be too weak to do the deed. If I have a choice, I think I'll still get on a different raft, Laura. No offense. > > Laura Creighton > utzoo!laura -- Jeff Sonntag ihnp4!mhuxt!js2j "In the long run, we'll all be dead."-John Maynard Keynes