Unit 4 Philosophy Discussion

Unit 4 Philosophy Discussion

Consider the following predicament:

A very, very large man is leading a group of explorers out of a cave when he gets stuck in the mouth of the cave and in a very short time high tide will be upon the explorers, and unless the large man is promptly unstuck, the group will be drowned except the fat man, whose head is out of the cave. But fortunately (such as it is), someone has with him a stick of dynamite. Either they use the dynamite and blast the poor innocent large man out of the mouth of the cave or everyone else drowns. Either one dies or many die. If the group does not use the stick, the large man will be rescued in due course.

Consider further another version of this story where the large man, whose head is in the cave, will drown with them; yet another version has it that instead of a large man it is a large pregnant woman obstructing the cave.

If you were part of the group, what solution would you suggest in each scenario? What are the differences, morally speaking, among the various scenarios? Discuss what makes this case morally difficult.