Four Scenarios

[max-greece]

Scenario One: I am an atheist. I am in the mall and I see an elderly woman drop a $10 bill on the ground. I pick up the bill and return it to the woman who dropped it; why?

Scenario Two: I am a Christian. I am in the mall and I see a young man drop a $10 bill on the ground. I pick up the bill, and instead of returning it to the man who dropped it, I slip it into my pocket; why?

Scenario Three: I am a Christian. A woman cuts me off in traffic. Frustrated, I honk my horn for a long while and I yell out some choice words; why?

Scenario Four: I am an atheist. A man cuts me off in traffic. Frustrated, I grip the wheel, muster a smile, and carry on with my journey without angst; why?

Theists and atheists are welcome to contribute. Feel free to respond to any or all scenarios as you are lead. I’m still working out some details of the “moral dilemma“ and I would appreciate any and all input. Thanks.

fff

Just a few comments:

1. The first 4 words of each scenario have, in my experience, no bearing on the rest of it. I seen people behave well or badly from all walks of life.

There are times when I attribute any apparently morally good action of mine to selfish motives.

In the case of returning $10 to the old woman that dropped it I know that will make me feel good about myself all day. Cheap at twice the price.

The question then becomes - suppose she had dropped more? What is the point where not feeling good about myself could be worth the money. I haven't yet found that amount but from a similar experience I can tell you it is more than 18,357 euros.

OK - I'll explain the above but its not quite the same thing as I would have had to beat up an old woman to get it.

As follows:

Evening: queuing at the cash point. Old woman in front of me obviously struggling with the machine. I am waiting and waiting. Eventually I ask if she is OK. She turns, looks at me and asks me where I'm from (this is in Athens). I tell her I am English.

She's delighted (why?) and then asks me for help. Her card has just ejected from the machine. She hands me the card and says: "My pin number is XXXX." I am trying to take out 350 euros. Can you do it for me?

So I go up to the machine- put the card in, request "fast cash", enter the pin, and hit the 350 euro button. A moment later out pops the card, the money and the receipt. On the receipt it says "Available Balance - 18,357"

I hand the lot over to her and then tell her that what she just did was incredibly risky and that she really ought to learn how to use these machines - I could have been anyone. She was quite nonchalant about the whole thing and wandered off happily.

The funny thing is - I didn't feel good about myself that day - I was really too angry that she was taking such a stupid risk.

[Tonus]

My honest answer to all four would be: because that's the kind of person you are.

My snarky answers would be:

Q1: because I am an atheist who secretly wishes he was really a Christian.
Q2: because I am a Christian who secretly wishes he was really an atheist.
Q3: because I am a New Yorker.
Q4: trick question! no one would ever do that.

[Ben Davis]

Scenario One: I am an atheist. I am in the mall and I see an elderly woman drop a $10 bill on the ground. I pick up the bill and return it to the woman who dropped it; why?

Scenario Two: I am a Christian. I am in the mall and I see a young man drop a $10 bill on the ground. I pick up the bill, and instead of returning it to the man who dropped it, I slip it into my pocket; why?

Scenario Three: I am a Christian. A woman cuts me off in traffic. Frustrated, I honk my horn for a long while and I yell out some choice words; why?

Scenario Four: I am an atheist. A man cuts me off in traffic. Frustrated, I grip the wheel, muster a smile, and carry on with my journey without angst; why?

Theists and atheists are welcome to contribute. Feel free to respond to any or all scenarios as you are lead. I’m still working out some details of the “moral dilemma“ and I would appreciate any and all input. Thanks.

fff

Scenario 1: Because you're too gutless to nick it.

Scenario 2: Because you're on minimum wage and your food stamps have just been cut.

Scenario 3: Because you have OCD and anyone who fails to queue properly triggers a response.

Scenario 4: Because you're passive-aggressive & repressing your anger.

It seems that none of these scenarios require the religious information; none of them are dependent on the allocated religious beliefs of the protagonist to reach the conclusions you seem to be looking for.

What's the purpose of these scenarios?

[freedomfromforum]

I am grateful for those who took the time to read the original thread post and also for those who chose to contribute. This is an exercise in social examination with an emphasis upon morality as it applies concerning certain peripheral considerations. There is no agenda to this exercise but to gain a clearer view of certain social groups. I could unveil the tells in the questionnaire, but what fun would that be? I'm gaining valuable insights from responses I've already gotten. I invite anyone else to contribute who has not already done so. Likewise, if you have already contributed, please feel free to expand upon your prior comments/responses. Thanks to all.

fff

[Zazzy]

I could unveil the tells in the questionnaire, but what fun would that be?

Eventually you'll clue us in, though, right? RIGHT?

[freedomfromforum]

I could unveil the tells in the questionnaire, but what fun would that be?

Eventually you'll clue us in, though, right? RIGHT?

@Zazzy,

I made the model with a relatively thin veneer. The tells are actually necessarily given within the scenario frames. The only fair clues I could give without potentially tarnishing the purity of participant's responses, is that some who have already responded have hit on one of three key features within the frames. Even your most recent response (this latest one) contains extremely valuable data which will be added to the calculated results. As far as posting any results, I'm afraid that they would be far too anti-climactic for most of the members here, as they pertain to my work/study in the field of behavioral and cognitive psychology. No one here is being examined as an individual - I am examining a group, and attempting to interpret that group within the frame of a subjective model.

[catfish]

Basically what he is doing is establishing the criteria of each scenario and noting each respondent's religious views.
He's just seeing how fucked up you guys are regarding matters of "us vs them"...


Sheeple...

[Foxaèr]

I prefer scenario number five.

Most Christians are non-christian dicks while some of them are okay.

Most atheists are more humane than religious people while some atheists are inhumane dicks.

[Owlix]

Eventually you'll clue us in, though, right? RIGHT?

@Zazzy,

I made the model with a relatively thin veneer. The tells are actually necessarily given within the scenario frames. The only fair clues I could give without potentially tarnishing the purity of participant's responses, is that some who have already responded have hit on one of three key features within the frames. Even your most recent response (this latest one) contains extremely valuable data which will be added to the calculated results. As far as posting any results, I'm afraid that they would be far too anti-climactic for most of the members here, as they pertain to my work/study in the field of behavioral and cognitive psychology. No one here is being examined as an individual - I am examining a group, and attempting to interpret that group within the frame of a subjective model.

But you ARE going to tell us your overall objective, yes?

[Fruity]

FFF, you made it through 3 pages. You must tell.

I hate to say this, but I don't get the point. It seems rather biased.

I still like you. Carry on.