But what about the other nurses on my unit, the ones who are competent and motivated and curious and really care? Would familiarity with the concept of heroic responsibility help or hinder them in their work? Honestly, I predict that they would feel alienated, that they would assume I held a low opinion of them (which I don’t, and I really don’t want them to think that I do), and that they would flinch away and go back to the things that they were doing anyway, the role where they were comfortable–or that, if they did accept it, it would cause them to burn out. So as a consequentialist, I’m not going to tell them.
I have known of this concept for a couple of years and I admire people who are moved by it and really attempt to “make a difference” in a heroic way, but I am not one of them and have no inclination to be. I suspect that my mind is more typical than yours in this respect, and that you telling the other nurses about it will not cause a flinch. More like a “oh, that’s nice” reaction before going back “to the things that they were doing anyway”, without any additional impetus to argue with a doctor, or go an extra mile, or wanting to put more effort into fighting Moloch.
I have known of this concept for a couple of years and I admire people who are moved by it and really attempt to “make a difference” in a heroic way, but I am not one of them and have no inclination to be. I suspect that my mind is more typical than yours in this respect, and that you telling the other nurses about it will not cause a flinch. More like a “oh, that’s nice” reaction before going back “to the things that they were doing anyway”, without any additional impetus to argue with a doctor, or go an extra mile, or wanting to put more effort into fighting Moloch.