A634.1.5.RB SharpMelissa
As I read through each ethical dilemma, I was desperately
torn. Since I don’t have to make this decision in real-time, I can think rationally
about my decision. However, if I exam these scenarios based on the emotions
that would potentially drive my decisions, I don’t know what I would do. For the sake, of discussion, I’ll give my best
answers, in this moment. If I had to sacrifice one child to save four children,
I think I would throw the switch. In sacrificing the one child, I am not saying
this his life has less value, I thought of it in terms of fewer losses. No matter what, everyone would experience grief and
guilt; I would feel guilty for killing a child that I could have saved; the
survivors and their loved ones may feel guilty, for it could have been them
(their loved one); the loved ones of the lost child would experience grief, and
all would be devastated. There is no win/win
scenario; I see it as a lose/lose. Even after time passed, I would always be
the person who killed someone’s child, even if it was for the greater “good”.
Same scenario except:
You are standing next to an elderly man. If you push him in front of the train
it will stop the train and all the children will be saved. Will you push him?
The thought of pushing someone in front of train is more
than I can handle. However, in a situation where quick decisions and actions
are required, I am sure my emotions and adrenaline would kick-in. While it
pains me to say, I would probably push the elderly man. I would reason that he
was able to live a full life, while the five children were just beginning their
lives. Still, the thought of sacrificing a helpless man, who also values his
life, seems so awful and abusive. Like the first scenario, everyone would
experience a gamut of emotions such grief, guilt, gratitude, and fear. In
making the decision to push the elderly man, I think many would side with me;
yet, others may see my actions as discriminative and abusive.
Same scenario except:
The one child on the side track is your child. Will you throw the switch to
save the five children?
Wow. I don’t have children, but I have nieces and nephews; I
love and care for those children as if they were my own. Therefore, I cannot imagine a scenario where
I harm any them, even if it means saving others. The big difference here is that I would be immediately attached. In the
other scenarios, I would be attached and always affected; however, in this
family scenario, the aftermath would haunt me, daily. If I saved my niece, I am
the selfish person who killed four children so that one could survive, no
matter that she is mine. My niece’s parents would be indebted to me and I would
express gratitude for my niece’s life; however, my gratitude would come with a
cloud of guilt as I recall the moment I made a decision to save her. My mind
drew a blank as I thought about sacrificing my niece to save the four children.
I would be the auntie who killed her niece… I know, that’s a bit dramatic, but
that’s how I would feel. I would have to face my family, knowing that I had the
power to prevent my niece’s death.
I hate all of
these scenarios.
LaFollette (2007) stated that we all must make ethical
choices (p.7). Like the train dilemma, all choices were objectionable; when there
are no good choices, “we do not want to live with the consequences of making
any of them” (LaFollette, 2007, p.7). Whether I sacrificed one child to save
four, sacrificed and elderly man to save all five children, sacrificed my niece
to save four children, or scarified four children to save my niece, there was
no good choice. None of those options made me feel better about the situation
because in all scenarios, someone would get hurt. If I experienced anything
like this, I hope that I would be of sound mind. While I understand that I
cannot separate my emotions from intense events, I would like to be fully present in those moments.
Ultimately, I know that I would have done what I thought was right, at that
time. I hope that I would be able to live with my decision, even if all
outcomes were painful.
References
LaFollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Malden, MA:
Wiley-Blackwell.
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