(September 18, 2016 at 10:32 pm)Arkilogue Wrote:(September 18, 2016 at 10:16 pm)Rhythm Wrote: If you and I were in a vehicle about to go over a cliff, and I needed you to perform some action to save your life...I wouldn't fuck around with riddles.I like you well enough but self preservation would kick in and I would unbuckle my own belt and leap out the door, hoping to God you are doing the same.
"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
You'd have to be a moron not to be able to tell whether you have enough time to try and help the other person first, or not. I'd do that. If I considered I wouldn't have enough time to do it, then I certainly wouldn't unbuckle his seatbelt for him at my own expense. But if he had trouble doing it and I thought he could use my help and I had a little time to try, I would certainly do it for him and then jump out of the car.
It's also relevant who it is. If it's someone I care about deeply, that window of time I might need to ascertain how much can I allot for helping that person out would considerably widen, I think, no matter the risk to my own person, to the point where it was a last minute thing even. But if I couldn't get them out of the car no matter what and the car was still going to fall down that cliff, there'd be no use in me dying with them, so I would run out and see what happens. That also adds the benefit of me being there to call an ambulance in case the car doesn't explode and the person sustains life-threatening injuries that require immediate help. After that, if they died, depending on how much I cared about them, I would either end up killing myself from depression or moving on from it...
I know myself and how I react in different situations. I can honestly say I don't lose my head in those types of situations. That doesn't mean I'll always do what might be considered honorable, like saving a stranger I wouldn't give two fucks about by risking my own life in the process. It means I don't think the self-preservation instinct is always as powerful as you might think it is.