Moral Stories

Story 33

You are an inspector of a nuclear power plant. The plant foreman and you are visiting the facility when one of the supply conduits overheats. The emergency coolant system fails to activate, and a chain reaction which will result in a nuclear meltdown is about to start. This will release lethal radiation into the nearby town, killing thousands of people.

Question

Do you cool down the conduits by pushing the foreman down on them, so the nuclear chain reaction will be stopped in time for you and the thousands of people?

Majority Answer: Yes

Answer distribution over 25 people:

P(Yes): 0.60 P(No): 0.40

Is Ambiguous: True

Factor

These are the factors and their attributes present in this story.

Beneficiary: Self-beneficial

Causal Role: Means

Evitability: Inevitable

Personal Force: Personal