Moral Stories

Story 62

You are a military officer during a war. Your soldiers have found an important enemy spy trapped and injured in a collapsed building. Over the radio you have been informed that enemy soldiers are planning a surprise attack on a nearby town, but you don't know which. They will kill thousands of civilians if you and your soldiers do not stop them. The spy knows which town will be attacked. You have questioned him but he doesn't want to tell you. He won't survive much longer due to his injuries. Rats have begun to chew his legs and he is suffering a lot.

Question

Do you make the spy reveal the information by letting the rats continue to torture him, so that you can prevent the attack on the thousands of civilians?

Majority Answer: Yes

Answer distribution over 25 people:

P(Yes): 0.72 P(No): 0.28

Is Ambiguous: False

Factor

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

Beneficiary: Other-beneficial

Causal Role: Means

Evitability: Inevitable

Personal Force: Impersonal