Thought Experiment Regarding Omission vs Commission

[David Sklansky]

Every day at five o'clock before Andy Fox can claim his $10,000 daily pay, he has to sit at a desk and push one of three buttons. If he pushes button #1 the ten grand comes sliding out of a slot TWELVE HOURS LATER. Above button #2 is a picture of a little child who will die unless Andy pushes the button. If he does, a lifetime supply of medicine that will keep the kid alive will be delivered to him via helicopter. But only eight grand will slide out, again twelve hours later. Button #3 has a picture of four kids (including the #2 button kid) who could be saved, but only two thousand is paid out twelve hours later if he pushes it.

Andy has decided to push button #2 every day as long as he is working. It is now his last day at work and he will have to start living off his savings and he will stop his charity. When he goes back to collect his final pay there is only $2000. He calls up the machine maker who admits that there was a malfunction that made it recognize button 2 as button three. The problem is that the medicine is already in the air on the way to the three kids. To rectify the situation Andy must go to the rectifier machine which has one button with the three kid's pictures on top of it. If he pushes it, a signal will be sent to the helicopter to turn around (the kids have NOT been told it was on the way) and his six thousand would come out of the slot.

There is zero difference morally betwween Andy doing that and his original intention to push button #2 then #3. But the second act would be called by many homicide for money (true it was money that he was owed but the same is true for many other felonious homicides.) Yet I stick by the first sentence of this paragraph.