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26th June 2009, 12:45 PM
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In your opinion, what situations, if any, make it ethically reasonable to purposefully take a human life?
Edit: Also, if you provide a scenario where killing is ok, please elaborate as to why. If you believe killing is never ok, please explain that as well. Thanks!
-Lyn
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Last edited by Penumbra; 26th June 2009 at 02:06 PM.
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26th June 2009, 12:57 PM
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Reps: 30,957,804,797 (power: 0) | | Originally Posted by Penumbra  In your opinion, what situations, if any, make it ethically reasonable to purposefully take a human life?
-Lyn
In the case where you are stronger, healthier or are more fertile than the human you are ridding from the species.
Perfect scientific answer. Of course the answer I presented is based on the situation that science is used as a matter of determing the value of all living things. |
26th June 2009, 01:01 PM
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Reps: 851,845,658,044,315 (power: 851,845,658,050) | | Originally Posted by Polycarp_fan In the case where you are stronger, healthier or are more fertile than the human you are ridding from the species.
Perfect scientific answer. Of course the answer I presented is based on the situation that science is used as a matter of determing the value of all living things.
Does science say that? Why is that a good scientific reason?
And the OP asked: In your opinion, what situations, if any, make it ethically reasonable to purposefully take a human life?
Which you didn't answer. 
-Lyn
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26th June 2009, 01:08 PM
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26th June 2009, 01:54 PM
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Reps: 18,563,956,112,384,120 (power: 18,563,956,112,400) | | Originally Posted by Penumbra In your opinion, what situations, if any, make it ethically reasonable to purposefully take a human life?
-Lyn
When you're being attacked. |
26th June 2009, 02:00 PM
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Reps: 851,845,658,044,315 (power: 851,845,658,050) | | Originally Posted by LittleNipper When you're being attacked.
Thank you.
What if someone else is being attacked, but not you?
Also, can you elaborate as to why it's ok to kill if you're being attacked. It may be self evident to some people, but I'd like to hear the reasoning.
-Lyn
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26th June 2009, 02:04 PM
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Reps: 291,703,846,939,525,952 (power: 291,703,846,939,538) | | Originally Posted by Penumbra In your opinion, what situations, if any, make it ethically reasonable to purposefully take a human life?
-Lyn
I don't know that there is any situation where it is "ethically reasonable". I just know there are certain situations in which I will.
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26th June 2009, 04:01 PM
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Reps: 346,569,841,391,060,992 (power: 346,569,841,391,076) | | Originally Posted by Penumbra Thank you.
What if someone else is being attacked, but not you?
Also, can you elaborate as to why it's ok to kill if you're being attacked. It may be self evident to some people, but I'd like to hear the reasoning.
-Lyn
I'm not talking here about situations where killing has been legally mandated, such as capital punishment, or in wartime. I think that's a related, but separate ethical discussion.
I'd say the overall ethical principle is that killing persons is wrong. This derives from our biological instinct towards self-preservation. And also from our evolution as social beings. Our species thrives best in society, which cannot exist if members are constantly killing each other. It follows then, that if someone is attempting to kill another person, he should be stopped. Using non-lethal force to stop the attack would be preferred, but if that should be inadequate, then killing the attacker is a lesser evil than allowing him to kill someone else. So killing in defense of self or others is ethical, but only in a relative sense when compared to the alternative.
Kinda wordy. But I hope it's clear.
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26th June 2009, 04:04 PM
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Reps: 851,845,658,044,315 (power: 851,845,658,050) | | Originally Posted by jayem I'm not talking here about situations where killing has been legally mandated, such as capital punishment, or in wartime. I think that's a related, but separate ethical discussion.
I'd say the overall ethical principle is that killing persons is wrong. This derives from our biological instinct towards self-preservation. And also from our evolution as social beings. Our species thrives best in society, which cannot exist if members are constantly killing each other. It follows then, that if someone is attempting to kill another person, he should be stopped. Using non-lethal force to stop the attack would be preferred, but if that should be inadequate, then killing the attacker is a lesser evil than allowing him to kill someone else. So killing in defense of self or others is ethical, but only in a relative sense when compared to the alternative.
Kinda wordy. But I hope it's clear.
Thank you.
It's mostly clear. The only thing that's a little unclear is the part I put in bold. Can you elaborate as to why killing the attacker is a lesser evil than allowing him to kill someone else?
It may be an obvious answer but I'd like to hear the reasoning behind it.
-Lyn
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26th June 2009, 04:30 PM
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Reps: 10 (power: 0) | | | Lyn, I think the reasoning is that if Person A is attempting to kill person B (who is in innocent) it is more reasonable to eliminate Person A who is destructive to society than it is to allow him to kill innocent people. | | |
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