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From: torek@umich.UUCP (Paul V. Torek )
Newsgroups: net.columbia,net.philosophy
Subject: Re: Escape tower for shuttle orbiter?
Message-ID: <558@umich.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 30-Mar-86 22:59:34 EST
Article-I.D.: umich.558
Posted: Sun Mar 30 22:59:34 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 1-Apr-86 08:18:33 EST
References: <9696@ucla-cs.ARPA> <588@qantel.UUCP> <2593@genat.UUCP> <12610@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <11035@amdcad.UUCP> <998@cybvax0.UUCP>
Reply-To: torek@umich.UUCP (Paul V. Torek )
Distribution: net
Organization: University of Michigan, EECS Dept., Ann Arbor, MI
Lines: 27
Keywords: life vs. megabucks
Xref: watmath net.columbia:2751 net.philosophy:4817

In article <998@cybvax0.UUCP> mrh@cybvax0.UUCP (Mike Huybensz) writes:
>For the cost of potentially saving a few lives on the shuttle, it would be
>simple to save THOUSANDS of equally irreplacable lives.  Perhaps even here
>in the US, if you are chauvanistic about it.  Lives of people who are dying
>slowly and agonizingly, rather than in a brief flash.

Indeed, people who want human life to be treated as worth infinitely more
than any money have no case, precisely for this reason.  Namely, money can
always be translated into human lives saved, and it never takes an infinite
amount of money to save one more life.

However, that said, I'm not sure that as a President faced with a choice 
between saving the shuttle vs. saving the astronauts, I'd save the shuttle.  
The people would feel an emotional commitment to save the astronauts, and
I think it would be an inherently good thing to express that commitment in
action.  In other words, I am suggesting that it is worth a whole lot to
strengthen or at least not weaken that emotion.  Of course, it would be even
better if that emotion were directed toward saving even more lives, but the
facts are otherwise.

Note that the above paragraph only applies to situations of choice between
relatively certain outcomes, not to risk evaluation.  As a President or a
NASA director, I would treat the astronauts' lives as more valuable in an
actual crisis than I would in my design of safety systems.  I do not think
this is at all irrational.

--Paul Torek							torek@umich