Moral Stories

Story 55

You are on a rowboat with a tour guide on a lake in Alaska. Nearby, three children have fallen off their boat and are in danger of freezing to death. You rescue the children, but one of them is very heavy and you realize that if you keep him on board your boat will sink and all will die. Neither you nor the guide can leave the boat because you are rowing and the guide is giving CPR to one of the children.

Question

Do you get rid of load by throwing that one child overboard, so you can reach the shore with the other two children?

Majority Answer: No

Answer distribution over 25 people:

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

Is Ambiguous: True

Factor

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

Beneficiary: Other-beneficial

Causal Role: Means

Evitability: Inevitable

Personal Force: Personal