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Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:11 pm
by Fiona
[QUOTE=Lestat]The thing I like about these questions is that they have to make it more and more unrealistic to serve as a real test of conscience...[/QUOTE]

I think you are right and they are unsatisfactory to that extent. I have mentioned that point in a different context I think. Do you consider this so unrealistic as to be not worth thinking about? It might be

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:13 pm
by Ravager
Hi Athena!
[QUOTE=Fiona]I wonder if old people might take that view if they had the switch?[/QUOTE]
I doubt it, but that wouldn't really surprise me. They'd have more empathy for people of their own age group, maybe.

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:13 pm
by Damuna_Nova
Hi hi.
Hey hey.
I continue to try to make Rav gay. :p

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:13 pm
by Athena
Everything is worth thinking about, just not for very long.

:confused:

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:14 pm
by Fiona
[QUOTE=Ravager]Hi Athena!

I doubt it, but that wouldn't really surprise me. They'd have more empathy for people of their own age group, maybe.[/QUOTE]

Does that seem right to you? Does it make any difference to your earlier thought about the importance of age?

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:17 pm
by Lestat
[QUOTE=Fiona]I think you are right and they are unsatisfactory to that extent. I have mentioned that point in a different context I think. Do you consider this so unrealistic as to be not worth thinking about? It might be[/QUOTE]Well, you must have noticed my non-posting in Magrus's thread about hitting people of the opposite sex.... That was pretty much for this reason.

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:19 pm
by Ravager
[QUOTE=Fiona]Does that seem right to you? Does it make any difference to your earlier thought about the importance of age?[/QUOTE]
I'm sticking to my earlier though as I can't say definitively what someone would do in such an occasion. The spur of te moment thing is certainly going to make a lot of difference...
I still think it would be generally better to save someone who has the potential for a longer life than a person who has already had most of it.
[QUOTE=Nano]I continue to try to make Rav gay. :p [/QUOTE]
And you continue to fail... :D

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:23 pm
by Fiona
[QUOTE=Lestat]Well, you must have noticed my non-posting in Magrus's thread about hitting people of the opposite sex.... That was pretty much for this reason.[/QUOTE]

Yes and I had a similar reaction there though I did not sustain it so well. :o
I did see this as different tonight because the basic situation did not seem unrealistic to me, just unlikely

@ Rav. Interesting. I do not myself value human life on a scale of that sort because I do not know how to do it. But I accept you are perhaps in the majority

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:25 pm
by Ravager
[QUOTE=Fiona]@ Rav. Interesting. I do not myself value human life on a scale of that sort because I do not know how to do it. But I accept you are perhaps in the majority[/QUOTE]
I can't say what I'd do definitively if such an occasion arose, just what I think I would do.
I might panic and freeze to the spot not pulling the switch, I don't know...

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 7:27 pm
by Lestat
[QUOTE=Fiona]Yes and I had a similar reaction there though I did not sustain it so well. :o [/QUOTE]I noticed, but I was too lazy to sympathise (in a researched way).

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 9:54 pm
by Chimaera182
I dunno, Rav. I used to be of that notion, as well: save the life of someone who's likely to live longer than that of someone who's already lived for a long while. But you have to take into account the fact that if you save the older person instead, soon both will be dead, and that's two less people on this world. You're doing the younger one a favor, sparing them the misery of existence.

Yeah, that was cold-hearted and very like me. Here's a more attractive reason: the older person's wisdom will continue to be preserved for several more years, so that they may teach the youngsters of what they learned of life.

Posted: Tue May 16, 2006 10:48 pm
by TonyMontana1638
Chimaera182 wrote:Yeah, that was cold-hearted and very like me. Here's a more attractive reason: the older person's wisdom will continue to be preserved for several more years, so that they may teach the youngsters of what they learned of life.
Frankly I find it an entirely unattractive reason, is wisdom a good enough reason to deprive another, who has experienced little in life, the chance to do so? Who's to say the younger may not grow up to do great things to benefit the human race as a whole? Who's to say the older person will feel obligated to going about "teaching youngsters"? Who's to say the older has learned anything worth knowing anyways (age does not equate to wisdom 100% of the time)? Killing the young to preserve the wisdom of the old in the hopes that it will, in turn, benefit the young doesn't make a lot of sense in my book. In theory, I'd go about assisting the younger before the older (if I were to do anything at all and not freeze like Rav said), because they have a a natural right to experience life: its joys, sorrows, pleasures and pains all of which are something the older person (hopefully) is already acquainted with.

This is just my opinion, and that's all that's really been asked but I know this matter isn't nearly so black and white (I'm not that thickheaded) and there could of course be other factors to affect my decision.
You're doing the younger one a favor, sparing them the misery of existence.
Our opinions obviously differ greatly, unless I've misunderstood wouldn't it then be more sympathetic of you to save neither and condemn them to death? That way bot are saved the "misery of existence". My best guess (and hope) is that you were just being facetious and it wasn't readily apparent to me because I'm tired :p , but if not my argument stands.

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 2:58 am
by Aramant
At work until 4:00 AM?! Sure! Only paid til 11:00 PM?! Sure! Tired as all hell?! Sure! *blargle...*

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 3:11 am
by Demortis
Yea, for more money. I got paid for all my overtime!

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 3:26 am
by Ravager
@Chim, I'd probably agree with Tony's view on this...your view is a bit too for my own personal taste... :p

[QUOTE=Tony]Our opinions obviously differ greatly, unless I've misunderstood wouldn't it then be more sympathetic of you to save neither and condemn them to death?[/QUOTE]
Heh. You couldn't condemn them all even if you wanted to...the wagon/trolley/whatever it is can either knock down 5 people on one track or one person on the other... ;)

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 3:42 am
by Demortis
Interesting.... Very interesting.

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 3:46 am
by Lestat
[QUOTE=Ravager]@Chim, I'd probably agree with Tony's view on this...your view is a bit too for my own personal taste... :p


Heh. You couldn't condemn them all even if you wanted to...the wagon/trolley/whatever it is can either knock down 5 people on one track or one person on the other... ;) [/QUOTE]
What are those people doing on the tracks anyway? ;)

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 3:46 am
by Ravager
Heh. Sorry, I didn't say hello to you, did I? :o
Well, maybe I'll say it now...Hi Demo. How are you? :)

@Lestat, obviously they got bored of normal life andf wanted to be part of a moral conundrum...thus bringing evil to all our lives...:laugh:

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 4:03 am
by Phreddie
[QUOTE=TonyMontana1638]Frankly I find it an entirely unattractive reason, is wisdom a good enough reason to deprive another, who has experienced little in life, the chance to do so? Who's to say the younger may not grow up to do great things to benefit the human race as a whole? Who's to say the older person will feel obligated to going about "teaching youngsters"? Who's to say the older has learned anything worth knowing anyways (age does not equate to wisdom 100% of the time)? Killing the young to preserve the wisdom of the old in the hopes that it will, in turn, benefit the young doesn't make a lot of sense in my book. In theory, I'd go about assisting the younger before the older (if I were to do anything at all and not freeze like Rav said), because they have a a natural right to experience life: its joys, sorrows, pleasures and pains all of which are something the older person (hopefully) is already acquainted with.

This is just my opinion, and that's all that's really been asked but I know this matter isn't nearly so black and white (I'm not that thickheaded) and there could of course be other factors to affect my decision.[/QUOTE]
Who's to say that your little johnny won't grow up to do great, horrible, but great things? He could go down in history as another Hitler, Stalin, or Bush.

Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 4:07 am
by Demortis
Hey, Rav. Im goona pass out, I worked to long today/yesterday....