[Anon] [Text]

[crouching_sin]

Here's a question for you all. It's something that I read a while back, and I'm interested in your answers. Anonymous is fine, if you want.

There are five patients in a hospital. All of them are dying due to complications with various organs. All of them will die within the next day or so if they don't get an organ transplant. Magic won't save any of them, incidentally, if you were hoping to use that.

A young backpacker comes into the hospital or a checkup. He has no relatives, and he is in excellent health. As it happens, you, the surgeon on duty, notice that he is a perfect match for all five of the patients.

Assuming the backpacker does not give consent, is it morally permissible to cut him up and transfer the organs to the other patients? These are not organs that the backpacker can live without, so he'll die if you do.

I'm interested to hear what you think.

Comments

[scratchitti]

Well that assumes that a life is measured by what they do in their life. I just don't agree with that. EVERYONE is a world of potential and possibility you can't ever predict.

You either have to agree that every life is precious or no life is- either way it's ruins the choice as anything other then self serving. There's no purely logical way to do it.

[crouching_sin]

True. It depends on your ethics. It's a question usually used to introduce a concept called 'utilitarianism' - basically, maximizing potential happiness and minimizing pain.

[scratchitti]

Which is something everyone tries to do. And we all try and do it at the expense of others. I know I did.

But... I dunno, I don't like the idea that it's a limited resource. Or even that losing the chance to experience more invalidates what you already had. But I guess I kinda have a weird experience when it comes to death. Pain is something worth experiencing too.

[crouching_sin]

It depends. People have so little time in life... it makes sense at a basic level, though when you pick it apart it starts becoming less clear.

And... oh? Do you? What kind of 'weird experience'?