Backing out a little… if I see two people about to shoot someone tied to a tree, on your view am I ever justified in shooting them both to save the tied-up person’s life? If so, what does it minimally take to justify that?
Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not a utilitarian, I just don’t like hypocrisy.
But in my personal opinion? It’d depend on who’s tied to the tree and who’s shooting. I’d side with the people I value personally first; if they’re all strangers I probably would have to go with the most aesthetically pleasant side or just sit it out. This is assuming a consequence-free vacuum of course; IRL there would be legal/social concerns which would trump any initial preference, not to mention how utterly unfamiliar I am with firearms.
Ah, sorry. I thought you were arguing that the Civil War was a bad idea because it killed more people than it saved. My mistake, and thanks for answering my question.
But in my personal opinion? It’d depend on who’s tied to the tree and who’s shooting. I’d side with the people I value personally first; if they’re all strangers I probably would have to go with the most aesthetically pleasant side or just sit it out.
For clarification here, do you mean behavioral aesthetics such as which people are trying to tie someone to a tree and shoot them, visual aesthetics (which side is better looking,) or some combination or alternative?
A sort of a combo; aesthetics covers a lot of ground. Attractiveness, intelligence, how interesting/valuable their job is and how skilled they are in it, how cute they are (if they’re a kid or other small mammal), how well behaved they are, etc. It’s a lot easier to judge any given example than lay out hard and fast rules.
Backing out a little… if I see two people about to shoot someone tied to a tree, on your view am I ever justified in shooting them both to save the tied-up person’s life? If so, what does it minimally take to justify that?
Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not a utilitarian, I just don’t like hypocrisy.
But in my personal opinion? It’d depend on who’s tied to the tree and who’s shooting. I’d side with the people I value personally first; if they’re all strangers I probably would have to go with the most aesthetically pleasant side or just sit it out. This is assuming a consequence-free vacuum of course; IRL there would be legal/social concerns which would trump any initial preference, not to mention how utterly unfamiliar I am with firearms.
Ah, sorry. I thought you were arguing that the Civil War was a bad idea because it killed more people than it saved. My mistake, and thanks for answering my question.
For clarification here, do you mean behavioral aesthetics such as which people are trying to tie someone to a tree and shoot them, visual aesthetics (which side is better looking,) or some combination or alternative?
A sort of a combo; aesthetics covers a lot of ground. Attractiveness, intelligence, how interesting/valuable their job is and how skilled they are in it, how cute they are (if they’re a kid or other small mammal), how well behaved they are, etc. It’s a lot easier to judge any given example than lay out hard and fast rules.