The Value of Human Life (a poll for BigSooner)

[hmkpoker]

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The reason that I set up the island death ray scenario as I did is because it allows us to kill WITHOUT these negative reprocussions...the people will not reciprocate anything either way, and the method of killing is so depersonalized that it makes the emotional reprocussions much less.

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For me, it would be pretty hard for me to push a button and kill 200 innocent people if only to save the life of one loved one. I doubt I could be happy living with the knowledge of what I had done.

But, anyway...

Reciprocity needen't be given by those to whom you are inflicting the harm. Another person could find out what you did, and treat you with disdain for it. Or, kill you and your family because you inadvertantly killed one of their loved ones that was visiting the island. Or an alien race could wipe out the earth because we are in the way of their intergalactic highway, and failed their "humane" test because of your death ray episode. Thanks for killing the human race, man. Thanks a lot.

Also... just so you know... if I were to know you were going to use the death ray to save your loved one by killing 200 innocent people... I'd kill you before letting you do it. I think society would see it as justified, much like killing a terrorist trying to hijack a plane 9/11 style.

So, maybe there's your 3rd reason. Because someone might kill you to stop you from doing it, or punish/kill you after they find out you did it.

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No. The island Death Ray scenario is anonymous, inconsequential, hypothetical, and practically impossible. It eliminates the factors that otherwise deter us from killing people, and asks what we would do if these common factors were not an issue. No one's going to punish you for the Death Ray blast. That's the point.