I'd save the baby. I don't know what problem the 20 year old is
having or why either of them are dying or *how* I could save
them.
The 20 year old theoretically has more capability to save
him/herself. Maybe he/she doesn't. I don't know how he/she got
into the situation to NEED saving and really there's not much
information to go by.
The 20 year old could have severe brain damage, the baby none.
We don't know any of these things.
But the baby has more possibilities. If there are medical
problems or mental problems, they're fixable still.
The 20 year old? Not so fixable.
Baby doesn't have a chance to save itself.
The 20 year old, theoretically could have made choices to NOT
end up in that situation, whatever it is, or have had 20 years
of parents, family, and friends that could have given him/her
more chances to NOT end up in a situation of certain death.
The baby?
Helpless entirely.
The guy/girl could've had thousands of chances to NOT end up
there and need saving.
The baby? No choices, no chances. You're it.
========================== I was a premature baby. Were I born
20 years sooner? I wouldn't be here to type these words.
Had I lived until I was 20, in my last moments, I would be
grateful to have been given an impossible chance.
What if the baby and the 20 year old were one and the same
person? You save the baby and both live. You save the 20 year
old, the baby dies, and then the 20 year old dies.
What if the baby were you? ========================== All things
being equal, I'd still save the baby. More logical choice. I am
in the minority but I always am in this question. People aren't
mathematics. There's nothing about a 20 year old that makes it
more inherently irreplaceable than a baby, nor is there anything
about the baby that makes it inherently more replaceable than
the 20 year old.
My bias? I'm a futurist. The 20 year old represents past. He/she
is just going to repeat learned patterns for a lifetime in
various forms.
Hm, so maybe people _are_ mathematics but I just use a different
set of mathematics ================================ I'm an
individualist, also.
The # of people crying doesn't matter to me.
A democratic vote of a life's validity based on the number of
tears shed? That's fangirl talk. I'm all for fandom, mind you,
but the majority of tears or the heartfeltness of the loss - is
*that* the measure of a life's validity?
======================== 57,000,000 Fans on Facebook. He's 21.
Justin Bieber. 57 million hearts broken, billions of tears shed.
Is he more valuable than the baby? He had his turn. He did well.
Good for him. It's really a stupid question honestly. It's a
variation of the "would you save the 96 year old physicist or
the 2 month old? Most people pick the 2 month old in that case.
The younger the "older person" is, the less likely people will
chose the baby.
It's ageism. =========================== I can't chose the
hearts of other people. The 20 year old could easily have been a
total prick that the world is glad to get rid of with no
heartfelt anythings felt. I don't know. I also don't have a
problem with you choosing to choose the 20 year old for your
reasons. That's fine. It's your choice. Robin French I'm not
going to chose for you.
============================= I could never abort. Yet, I've
paid for abortions twice with no trouble to my conscience. My
friends needed the money. I knew why and I was ok with it.
Why? It was their choice and their friendship to me is
important, and what's important to them is important to me. I
wasn't going to impose my will on them. It's not my way. It
wasn't my choice to make.
If I was in their shoes? I'd do something different. But I
wasn't. They needed money to solve a problem and luckily I had
it. If I didn't have the money to spare, I wouldn't have.
Ethically, I'm fine with it. Friendship was more important and I
like to help. I was in no position to demand their girlfriends
carry, nor would I have. Not even if it was my son or daughter
who needed the money for it.
This question can easily be an abortion question. That's why I
bring it up.
The first 3 months after birth has become considered, "the
fourth trimester" and eventually, it will become legal. That's
just how it will be - societies attitudes change and they'll be
entirely justified by reams of paper.
I'll be fine with it. Not my choice. Society has its own will. I
have mine. My choices are never up to a majority vote
=============================== They're equal but not equal.
Learning difficulty for example.
I was born with cerebral palsy. If you saw me at 2 months, I
would appear useless, replaceable, a mistake. By a year I wasn't
even stopping myself from falling if you put me on a yoga ball
to roll me down. I'd just fall flat, face first. Total waste of
life. Expendable.
I was born before abortion was legal. My mother wouldn't have
aborted, but she might have.
By 2 months, all that was known is that I wasn't responsive.
yet, I had physical therapy and by the age of 5, there was no
way to tell I ever had cerebral palsy. Entirely 100% successful.
So yes, I'm biased.
Bizarre? Perhaps. But I was given a chance. All lives aren't
equal. Mine matters. I'm glad I had my chance. I'd give that
same chance to another unknown.
The known is already known and it's boring. The unknown is far
more interesting to me. I'm not boring, although I *can* prove
tiresome ====================== My criterion still remains
maximize choice. It's a simple one. Maximize choice for all
possibilities whenever possible. =================== Oh I don't
want to influence the baby.
I'd be a terrible father most likely.
No, I believe in choices, period. I don't need to be involved in
those choices.
================= Palsy certainly does restrict you. I
volunteered with them for a year when I was 21. It doesn't
restrict your imagination though.
And, that's my point.
"Mental retardation" wouldn't affect my choice either.
Hydrocephalus? Even that, too soon to tell. 2 months is too
soon. Brains rewire. Even it it doesn't, there's something in
there and it deserves to utilize what it has.
I'm assuming neither the baby nor the 20 year old are hooked up
to machines at the time of saving. They are breathing without
assistance.
I'm still not convinced that the 20 year old is the superior
choice. Are you replaceable? Am I? No. We're layers of learned
patterns yes, but we also have choices.
Mental retardation let's say: Can we measure the imagination? It
doesn't matter of they are "productive" to society or if people
feel the loss or don't feel it. They still deserve a chance,
even if it fails.
