Suppose you’re walking down the street and immediately you’re snatched by someone who pops out of an alley. He drags you behind a building where there are 10 people standing against a wall and 4 guys (including your abductor) with guns. Your abductor shoves a gun in your hand and says, "if you shoot one of those people against the wall, we’ll let the other nine go; but if you refuse, we’re going to shoot all ten of them." And suppose he’s telling you the truth, and suppose there’s no way to shoot the other three gunmen to try and make an escape.
1. Would nine people not-dying justify killing one person? Would the stakes make murder right in this case?
2. If you (or anyone) did refuse to kill that one person, and the gunmen did gun down all ten people, would you be responsible and blameworthy for their deaths? Would those people dying truly be your fault? Why or why not?
No comments:
Post a Comment