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The following is a moral dilemma I discovered recently and is very interesting. I thought the minr community might like it, since you seem to like philosophy. The following is all the information given, word-to-word.
You are passengers aboard a ship bound to New York. The ship has run aground and is sinking quickly. The temperature in the water -50 °C (-58°F). There are eight of you left to be placed in the lifeboats. There is only one lifeboat left and it only has space for five people. Overcrowding would result in the lifeboat capsizing and the certain death of all in it.
Your task is to decide who will receive places on the lifeboat, and who will go down with the ship. Each person must argue their case, then the group must come to a decision about who will stay behind.
NOTE: There is no "correct" answer to the riddle. Justify who you would save and why, using the (intentionally) limited snapshots of their character.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Steve, 44 years old:
A car salesman, husband and father of three. On a long weekend with his secretary, who he is having an affair with.
Cory, 7 years old:
Has a rare, but treatable form of leukemia. Is on his way to receive treatment that could save his life.
Peter, 79 years old:
A good man. He has just retired. Is meeting his wife in N.Y. where she is staying with their eldest child and visiting the grandchildren.
Bill, 48 years old:
The captain of the ship.
Rachael, 19 years old:
A stowaway. She ran away from home after a love affair with the gardener. She is three months pregnant but has no job, no money, no husband and nowhere to live.
Mary, 40 years old:
An ex-prostitute who now cares for orphans and homeless children.
Mark, 37 years old:
A priest who is on his way to America to start a new parish. He embezzled money from his last position.
Margaret, 33 years old:
A business woman on her way to conference.
You are passengers aboard a ship bound to New York. The ship has run aground and is sinking quickly. The temperature in the water -50 °C (-58°F). There are eight of you left to be placed in the lifeboats. There is only one lifeboat left and it only has space for five people. Overcrowding would result in the lifeboat capsizing and the certain death of all in it.
Your task is to decide who will receive places on the lifeboat, and who will go down with the ship. Each person must argue their case, then the group must come to a decision about who will stay behind.
NOTE: There is no "correct" answer to the riddle. Justify who you would save and why, using the (intentionally) limited snapshots of their character.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Steve, 44 years old:
A car salesman, husband and father of three. On a long weekend with his secretary, who he is having an affair with.
Cory, 7 years old:
Has a rare, but treatable form of leukemia. Is on his way to receive treatment that could save his life.
Peter, 79 years old:
A good man. He has just retired. Is meeting his wife in N.Y. where she is staying with their eldest child and visiting the grandchildren.
Bill, 48 years old:
The captain of the ship.
Rachael, 19 years old:
A stowaway. She ran away from home after a love affair with the gardener. She is three months pregnant but has no job, no money, no husband and nowhere to live.
Mary, 40 years old:
An ex-prostitute who now cares for orphans and homeless children.
Mark, 37 years old:
A priest who is on his way to America to start a new parish. He embezzled money from his last position.
Margaret, 33 years old:
A business woman on her way to conference.
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