Would you kill a million people to save the world?

SoWatchaWant

Just read Watchmen, and it kinda deals with this.

In it, a powerful public figure stages a massive hoax-he kills half of New York by teleporting a genetically tailored monster, made to look like an alien, into Manhattan, killing 5 million or something.

The idea is, it's supposed to look like an alien attack, so that the nuclear arms race stops and world peace follows (this was written during the Cold War), as the nations now have a united front

Basically, would you kill an innocent life, to save many more? It's the most challenging moral concept I've ever entertained, tbh. .

What do yee think

thelordofcheese

Do it?

I did it 35 minutes ago.

GLaDOS

I accidently the whole population

orestes

From a consequentialist stand-point the answer would be definitely, the end justifies the means.

Stalin killed millions of his own countrymen, directly and indirectly, for what he felt to be for the greater good of Russia (wel, that was the official line on it anyway).

From a human rights point of view the answer would be no, and amnesty international would go frigging mental if they found out about it.

Personally, I don't think I could do it.

Takk

Spoiler

Coriolanus

For the record, I'd like to think I could do it.

A more interesting question would be though, would you sacrifice yourself along with the few million, to save the world?

Diabhal Beag

I would kill the entire Roscommon population to save the rest of the world :pac:

Aodan83

Nevore wrote: »

A more interesting question would be though, would you sacrifice yourself along with the few million, to save the world?

I don't think I could kill the few million in the first place. There's no way I could kill myself whilke I was at it.

Dartz

Sure.

5 million for 5 billion. Fair trade.
That's 0.1%. Statistically **** all.

Reduce it to numbers and it becomes a very easy question to answer. Gimme the button and I'll push it. Just shoot the bastard with the mask first.

Remember. 1 death is a tragedy. 1 million is a statistic.

Tar.Aldarion

No, I'm more of a deontologist.

The Big Red Button

No. Simple as.

Also, consider this one ...

Ruu_Old

We need one man to save us all, he even has a boards account! He is just your average Joe Public,

The_Citizen

.

galwayrush

Ruu wrote: »

We need one man to save us all, he even has a boards account! He is just your average Joe Public,

The_Citizen

.

As in offering him as a human sacrifice or something?.............Or as a super hero?

dresden8

Meh.

Star Trek already did it in "Conscience of the King"

But yes.

If I was sure.

And it hardly sci-fi or anything. The guys who order air strikes do this sh1t every day.

1 death is a tragedy, 1 million is a statistic.

Pompey Magnus

But if you are doing it to save the world then i don't see what the dilemma is, those people would die in either case (assuming that is what the question is getting at), so all you are doing is killing them a little sooner so that everyone else gets alot longer to live. I would be worried if a person in power who might have to make this call would even pause to think about it.

Professey Chin

Dartz wrote: »

Remember. 1 death is a tragedy. 1 million is a statistic.

Well hello Mr. Manson.Didnt know you were here

jaffa20

A million, why stop at that

orestes

Ultimate Chin wrote: »

Well hello Mr. Manson.Didnt know you were here

It's a quote of Stalin that Manson used in the Fight Song, Manson didn't write the line

realmadrid

show me the button and I will gladly push it. Do I get a t shirt?

Nevyn

Yes but only if it's not random and I get to set the critea for those who die.

SoWatchaWant

Thaedydal wrote: »

Yes but only if it's not random and I get to set the critea for those who die.

Hmmm, what would they be?

phasers

what's your least favorite country: Italy or France?

Wossack

SoWatchaWant wrote: »

Hmmm, what would they be?

it'd probably be quicker to list criteria for those who get to live :pac:

Frankiestylee

Ah yeah, sure a million is only a drop in the global ocean.

Nevyn

Wossack wrote: »

it'd probably be quicker to list criteria for those who get to live :pac:

What anyone who is not on one of my lists or is blood kin to those on one of my lists?

GLaDOS

phasers wrote: »

what's your least favorite country: Italy or France?

Pfft, France

WeeBushy

Nevore wrote: »

For the record, I'd like to think I could do it.

A more interesting question would be though, would you sacrifice yourself along with the few million, to save the world?

Funny thing is id sacrifice myself with very little hesitation to save the world, but ask me to kill someone else...

thelordofcheese

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Pfft, France

nobody ever says italy.....

K-9

Torchwood solved this one. Done and dusted.

thebossanova

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few...

kowloon

Do you think we'll get away with it though? because frankly, I'm worried this could come back to bite me.

A Neurotic

It's very easy to think about this and make a decision when it's all hypothetical. I don't think anyone can really know how they'd act in this kind of situation until they're in it.

giggsy664

ScienceNerd wrote: »

I accidently the whole population

In Soviet Russia, The whole population accidentally you.

Pygmalion

Yes, I would, it's the right thing to do.

orourkeda

Yeah. hell yeah i'll do it

Hank Scorpio

i`d kill the entire boards population for a donut, and a cherry on top

orourkeda

Would you have to select these people randomly

Tar.Aldarion

phasers wrote: »

what's your least favorite country: Italy or France?

Nobody ever says France. :pac:

Pygmalion

orourkeda wrote: »

Would you have to select these people randomly

Of course not, it's your chance to kill everyone who's ever turned you down or insulted you... For the greater good of course.

Hank Scorpio

orourkeda wrote: »

Would you have to select these people randomly

nah alphabeticle order

starting with G

marko91

either kill 5 million or kill the world population...:p

indough

chatterpillar wrote: »

No. Simple as.

Also, consider this one ...

but that scenario is irrelevant compared to this, as in this situation the million would die either way, you just have the opportunity to save another 5,999 million+ lives

weeder

yes, the worlds overpopulated anyway :pac:

Paddy Samurai

No definitely not........killing anything less than 10 million would not be worth getting out of bed for.

thelordofcheese

kowloon wrote: »

Do you think we'll get away with it though? because frankly, I'm worried this could come back to bite me.

The real kicker is that all you might have done is purchase some temporary security at the cost of a million lives.

brb - going to read watchmen again

biko

I think this thread can be merged with the "If Dublin was attacked by Nuclear weapon?" thread

WillieCocker

I'd kill a million people to save my job ffs.

Saibh

Make it a million and one, then I might consider it....

To save the world? No.

For fun .. yeah. I guess.

Fratton Fred

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

I would kill the entire Roscommon population to save the rest of the world :pac:

would anyone notice?

Does anyone livein Roscommon?

gerk86

easy. The entire prison population on earth.

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