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Line 1: − + − + − == Fallacies of the Lifeboat Problem ==+ − There are several fallacies to lifeboat ethics, or the lifeboat problem. These include the following hidden flaws:+ − * the future is never known with the degree of certainty required by the problem. There is, for example, a real chance that the lifeboat will hold more, or that help will arrive, or that people will volunteer to leave the boat, or that other solutions will be found by ingenuity or prayer.+ − * no one is likely to be in the situation described, any more than it is likely that a [[UFO]] will land in 5 minutes and demand a parent to choose which child will be taken away by it.<ref>In the movie [[Sophie's Choice]], a [[Nazi]] officer makes precisely this demand.</ref> It's silly to speculate on a scenario that will never happen.+ − * a shortage of lifeboat space is due to the negligence of someone: the captain, the shipowner, or someone else. There is no shortage of lifeboat materials and supplies in the world that require this scenario to occur. + − * it is unlikely that too few people would volunteer to leave the boat. When the [[Titanic]] sunk, men volunteered to give lifeboat space to women and children, for example, and there was no ethical dilemma.+ − == Biblical Solution ==+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Major rework
'''Lifeboat ethics''', or the lifeboat problem, is the moral dilemma created by imagining the following situation:
'''Lifeboat ethics''', or the lifeboat problem, is the moral dilemma created by imagining the following situation:
:You are the captain of a lifeboat that can only hold 15 people, but there are currently 20 in it. The boat will sink unless several people leave. How do you decide whom to throw off?
:You are the captain of a lifeboat that can only hold 15 people, but there are currently 20 in it. The boat will sink unless several people leave, resulting in their deaths. How do you decide whom to throw off?
This lifeboat problem is often taught in [[public school]] in order to persuade students to accept [[utilitarianism]], or [[situational ethics]]. Increasingly the hypothetical scenario includes specific traits of lifeboat passengers, such as a physical handicap, and old age, or other perceived "defect" to be considered in your decision. Often the student is simply told that he must expel a certain number of passengers and he is to pick which passengers, with which characteristics, to throw off.
This problem is often used as the model for a number of interesting ethical and philosophical questions involving endangering or sacrificing people for the "greater good".
Various forms of the lifeboat problem have been the theme of a number of books, movies, and television programs. The lifeboat situation is the starkest setting for this theme, but there are many others.
While fictionalized scenarios are often contrived to the point of extreme improbability, various analogues show up, to varying degrees, in a number of real-life situations. In fact, the "[[Triage]]" problem is an actual variant of this. Triage refers to the categorization of disaster victims into three categories: those who '''will not''' survive whether they are given assistance or not, those who '''will''' survive whether they are given assistance or not, and those for whom assistance will affect the outcome. The point of triage is to allocate scarce resources (doctors, medical facilities, blood) to those who will actually benefit. The ethical dilemma is that it sometimes requires decisions to let people die.
Other real-life examples are decisions about selecting organ transplant recipients, or allocation of very scarce or expensive drugs or medical treatments.
As a philosophical or ethical exercise, the lifeboat problem can involve discussions of life or death decisions based on a person's "worth"—such traits as a physical handicap, old age, or other perceived "defect". In actual triage situations, such considerations are generally not considered, though they occasionally show up in things like organ transplant decisions.
The training of medical personnel and emergency responders deals with these sorts of questions, even though the lifeboat problem itself is mostly a philosophical exercise.
== Faith-based approaches ==
There are those who believe that religious faith, guided by prayer, can solve instances of this problem. They cite the following factors:
* The future is never known with the degree of certainty required by the problem. There is, for example, a real chance that the lifeboat will hold more, or that help will arrive, or that people will volunteer to leave the boat, or that other solutions will be found by ingenuity or prayer.
* No one is likely to be in the situation described, any more than it is likely that a [[UFO]] will land in 5 minutes and create such a dilemma. <!-- I've taken out the "Sophie's Choice" reference. Dilemmas artificially caused by criminal acts are a completely different issue. --> It's silly to speculate on a scenario that will never happen.
* A shortage of lifeboat space is due to the negligence of someone: the captain, the shipowner, or someone else. There is no shortage of lifeboat materials and supplies in the world that require this scenario to occur.
* It is unlikely that too few people would volunteer to leave the boat. When the [[Titanic]] sunk, men volunteered to give lifeboat space to women and children, for example, and there was no ethical dilemma.
Faith-based approaches also cite the following Biblical considerations:
There is a passage in the [[Gospels]] that suggests that a lack of [[faith]] is the cause of the dilemma, and greater [[faith]] is the solution:<ref>Matthew 8:23-27 (NIV).</ref>
There is a passage in the [[Gospels]] that suggests that a lack of [[faith]] is the cause of the dilemma, and greater [[faith]] is the solution:<ref>Matthew 8:23-27 (NIV).</ref>
:Then [[Jesus]] got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little [[faith]], why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
:Then [[Jesus]] got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little [[faith]], why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
It is not known whether adherents of faith-based or biblical approaches are employed in hospital emergency rooms or in police, fire, or similar first-responder organizations.
== Rationality-based approaches ==
As noted above, situations similar to the lifeboat problem actually do arise in modern life, and are the subject of serious study and training. The philosophical attitude of the practitioners of this approach appears to be "If God gave us brains, He probably intended that we use them."
== References ==
== References ==