RE: Trolley Problem/Consistency in Ethics
January 24, 2018 at 2:30 pm
(This post was last modified: January 24, 2018 at 2:36 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
I can elaborate. I think that consequentialist ethics have more value to the group than to the individual. Particularly, I think that they are useful in compelling an individual to do "the bad thing" for the greater good or allow "the bad thing" to happen to them without reprisal in service of that same greater good, which might explain why c-ethics are normative and institutional..because a single individual is unlikely to be able to assess the full consequences of an action (or inaction) in a moment..or, if they could..have the interests of the group at heart over their own personal ones.
A person, for example..may not want to flip the switch at all, hoping someone else comes along and does something. People are notoriously inactive.
I see another poster mentioned that we have laws that might be set against a person who chooses either option. That is nothing if not an institutional consequentialist ethic. The notion that a world full of switch flippers that make trolleys run over one person or another person is..in point of fact..not actually likely to yield a world in which fewer people die.
So, we're compelled to allow the bad thing to happen even if we -didn't- want to, because otherwise jackasses would make stupid decisions. Heroes with guns come to mind.
A person, for example..may not want to flip the switch at all, hoping someone else comes along and does something. People are notoriously inactive.
I see another poster mentioned that we have laws that might be set against a person who chooses either option. That is nothing if not an institutional consequentialist ethic. The notion that a world full of switch flippers that make trolleys run over one person or another person is..in point of fact..not actually likely to yield a world in which fewer people die.
So, we're compelled to allow the bad thing to happen even if we -didn't- want to, because otherwise jackasses would make stupid decisions. Heroes with guns come to mind.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
