• Question: You are holding onto your grandmother's hand and the hand of a newborn that you do not know as they hang over the edge of a cliff. You have to let one go to save the other. Who do you let fall to their death? What was your rationale for making the decision?

    Asked by The Freudinator 7000 to Jack, Gem, Jermaine, Michelle, Steve on 18 Jun 2017.
    • Photo: Steven Brown

      Steven Brown answered on 18 Jun 2017:

      I am looking forward to tucking into a book by Paul Bloom which argues against empathy, and for what he calls ‘rational compassion’. What he is getting at is how we are more likely to help people who look like us, talk like us, etc. It’s built in. I have no doubt in your scenario, with this in mind, I would help the Gran – even though in calculated terms she would not live for as long, in all likelihood, as the kid.

      This is a good example of how emotional we are – we make decisions on emotional terms. We are not as smart as we think we are. Even being aware of this does not make much of a difference.

    • Photo: Michelle Jamieson

      Michelle Jamieson answered on 18 Jun 2017:

      I’d say the baby. Hypothetically the longer life.

    • Photo: Gemma Taylor

      Gemma Taylor answered on 19 Jun 2017:

      Oh gosh I really don’t like questions like this! I guess my Grandmother as she’s older and might be ready to die anyway.

    • Photo: Jermaine Ravalier

      Jermaine Ravalier answered on 19 Jun 2017:

      This is a proper ‘are you a psychopath’ question isn’t it?
      I’d save the baby – does that make me a psychopath?

Comments