A634.1.5.RB- The Train Dilemma: When no Choice is a Good One!

 

How shall we live, as individuals in the face of decisions about right versus wrong? How shall we
handle those occasions when none of the choices are attractive? Consider the following ethical dilemma and create a reflection blog regarding what you would do when having to make a choice in each train scenario. Justify your position and create a synopsis of your position and the implications. 

The right versus wrong question can't be simply answered correctly or incorrectly because I think right and wrong are all situational based. Not only situational but also focused around a culture, a pressure, a demand, or any other influential variable. The understanding of the problem at hand can also be time constrained, so a careful analysis of the problem and all influential variables may not be even a viable option. Who knows how a person will react to a stressful situation until they are immersed in it. It's very easy to sit back on your couch and write about what you think you would do, and for most will write that they'll take the high road. For me I know very well in-fact that I do not always take the high road, and that the sketchy decisions I've made are both right and wrong morally and ethically based on a multitude of perspectives.

As a Standards Officer I sit on a flight evaluation board every quarter and drill aspiring commanders about decisions that they would make based on different scenarios. I always ask them to ponder over each scenario and ask as many question prior to giving me their answer and the variables they went through to reach it. When dealing with impossible outcomes, some folks just revert to doctrine because they think from a position of what a court martial would think. If you stick to the doctrine and the outcome was profusely bad, at least you have something to justify it with. Other's make decisions based on rationalizing the outcome, though less concretely justifiable. That's what makes ethical dilemmas so interesting because it's all about making the right wrong decision based on what's being presented, how and when.  

Again it's easy to sit here and say what we would do just like the character disclosed about being an ethics expert, but actually throw them on the trolley and watch an analytical thinker work through an impulsive desiring situation turned out to be a disaster. For amusement sake, I'll answer anyways!

To kill one or five children

I think the resounding answer to this question would be the obvious one over the other five. I'd think to find another solution of trying to stop the train before choosing to kill anyone (obviously). Justification is in the numbers of death, and those who argue favor the Blackhawk down scenario. Many more were killed in trying to rescue one captured pilot, or recovering the remains. How many deaths justify further action? For me it all depends.

Kill the old man or let the kids die

Again, I think most people will say you push the man for which I would also agree with, but in action many might cower away and remove themselves from the situation altogether. Justification is that the man is old, lived a good life and his family will rejoice in his passing that saved the lives of all the kids. Who knows, maybe this old man was walking to a lab with the cure to all human disease, and now we just killed him. There's always a flip side to every coin.

My singular child or the other five

It's again easy to say that I would take the moral high ground and sacrifice my child for the greater sake of the other five but in action I don't think I could do it. Family preservation would take over I'm sure because I would essentially be removing my family altogether if such a tragedy would strike. Who knows what the issues could be with the other kids, maybe they were all terminal? Again devil's advocacy could be played out to infinity. To the dismay of the kids, the moral of the story is to teach your kids to not play on train tracks or always have a disposable old man readily available to avert disaster!

References

LaFollette, H. (2006). The practice of ethics.

The Good Place (2020). The trolley problem [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usdJgEwMinM

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A634.6.3.RB - What are Virtues

Image
  Select three of Franklin's virtues and reflect upon them in your blog. Ask yourself, how can I include them in my daily life?             The results of my PBS (2002) virtue quiz are that "You made some very virtuous choices. You chose the answers that closely reflected Ben's own self-improvement plan. Although Franklin gave up on his formal effort to be more virtuous, he devoted much of his life to self-improvement. You've made a good start on that yourself." I'm not really sold from the results of this quiz because I don't feel as though I follow them as extreme as the quiz questions behold. I could sway either way on a few of the questions and probably operate in the grays with most. I definitely try to find good in all of my actions and try even harder too overtly do no wrong, but I also believe that life needs to be enjoyed from time to time: I think that's what gives us our sanity. The straight edge life is great on p...
Read more

A634.7.4.RB- Egoism: Psychological and Moral

Image
  What is your view on egoism?             Since there are so many different facets of egoism I tend to view it by how an individual acts based on "when" they benefit and not necessarily how. I can't really think of an act that doesn't somehow benefit an individual, and really the hardest thing about all this is in the proof of it. How can you prove or disprove an act based on self-interest or not? How can I prove your selfless act doesn't somehow please you? If your motivation for selflessness is centered only on a feeling of good inside then why does that quantify altruism versus egoism as Ziniewicz (n.d.) defines? As stated previously, the "when" is what tips the scales from altruism to egoism for me personally. If an individual benefits in the here and now from something then I deem that action in the egoism realm, and we all act that way with many daily actions. The human interaction aspect also needs to be looked act wh...
Read more

A634.3.4.RB - The Harder They Fall

Image
Using concepts from the Kramer (2003) article as a baseline, share your insights on dilemmas that happen: in society, at work, and in your life.             Probably the most overwhelming factor that causes great leaders to come crashing down is a lack of mindfulness in my opinion. A lack of mindfulness gets them into a vicious cycle of prosperity that pressures further prosperity, and when it cannot be attained without unethical practices that stray from the core construct, well then it all comes crashing down. This very same pressure applies to elite athletes when they plateau, to steroid or not creeps in. I think all great leaders have had this happen to them at one point or another, but some learn and unfortunately others get caught in the vicious cycle repeatedly.             When reflecting about prosperity the best leaders understand that with every great gain somethi...
Read more