May 22nd, 2007
Tags: famous thought experiments, philosophy
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May 22nd, 2007 at 8:23 am
I’ve always hated that hypothetical. If anything, it only argues in favor of abortion in cases of rape, given the kidnapping and forced operation. A more intersting hypothetical would be:
You’re at Astroworld [forgive my nostalgia]. One of the best rides is the Bamboo Shoot. If you ride it, there is a possibility that you will end up hooked up to a violinist for nine months, and if you disconnect, the violinist will die. If you choose to ride and end up connected, can you unplug the violinist?
That seems to me to be a better analogy. You can augment it:
• If you wear a raincoat on the Bamboo Shoot, it will greatly reduce the chance of getting connected, but it does fail from time to time. Can you unplug if you take the precaution but still end up connected?
• If you are forced to ride against your will, can you unplug?
• If you ride with a stranger, you might catch a disease.
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:45 pm
That hypo both over- and under-estimates what is at stake. It overestimates the stakes by assuming that the life of a particular, identifiable, individually valued human person will be lost if the aparatus is unplugged, when abortion concerns a human life that has not yet come into being. It underestimates the commitment demanded because it assumes that carrying a pregnancy to term is a 9-month job at most. Giving birth to a child is, in almost every case, a lifelong commitment to love, agonize over and celebrate the life thereby made possible. In the comparatively few cases of adoption, a relationship is nevertheless established that shapes both lives thereafter. So a better hypothetical might be: you have always wanted to be a doctor. Your family has always wanted you to be a doctor. You study hard, get into medical school, graduate, complete your residency, and by then you realize you are not suited to being a doctor, will hate being a doctor, may have to kill yourself if you have to be a doctor, but if you do not become a doctor many of the people you might have treated will sicken and die. Do you have to be a doctor?
Red Sox 7-3 despite Talaveras’s head cold!