Ethical dilemma: An overweight man leads a group of people out of a narrow cave entry. Unfortunately, the opening to the cave is tiny?
This is indeed a very interesting ethical question, and as is true with most situations regarding ethics, the answer is not just black and white. I do not believe that the answer is to simply kill the one man to save the lives of the others, nor do I think the answer is to allow the others to die while the man blocking the cave lives. I think that creativity should come into play whenever a creative solution is needed.In this hypothetical case, I would propose that all of the people gather around the man who is blocking the entrance, while one person lights the stick of dynamite and places it at the furthest corner of the cave where the water is expected to enter, flooding the area.
In the best case scenario, the blast would open the cave further, creating more room for the people to either swim to safety as the tide rose, or achieve breathing room as the cave filled with water. Worst case scenario, the blast would kill them all or create an avalanche of debris that would suffocate them all. Because Dynamite is a commercial produced explosive that is intended for demolition and mining use, I am assuming that the blast would cause more damage to the cave than the inhabitants if placed correctly.
My ethics lead me to believe that one person's life is no greater than another, so I would have a hard time sacrificing one life to save another, even if it is trading one for many. I don't think I could kill anyone, especially in such a gruesome way as to literally blow them up to save my own life. That is a memory I would not like to live with.
This is a hard question and I can only tell you what I would do if I was the one blocking the escape route for other people. In this situation, I would choose to sacrifice myself to save the lives of the others. It is better for one person to die rather than have many people that die.
I also know that if I caused the deaths of all the other people due to me blocking their exit, and I lived while they did not, I would not be able to live with myself. The fact that they all died because of me would consume me and the guilt would drive me crazy. So I would definitely sacrifice myself to save the lives of others.
You are saying that the group cannot back up which means that all of them will be hurt in the blast. If they can move far enough to get out of the way than they could pull the man out ,i would think.
Why not have everyone go back out the way they came in as this was not it by your description. If it were a necessity than the fat guy would have to die for the masses.
The east side observation post had a larger opening through which someone could climb onto a narrow ledge and still be concealed. The group also found the remains of a bicycle that had been used to generate electricity and power a ventilation system. 1012 In addition, there was a water tank with a capacity of 10,000 imperial gallons (45,000 l).
While sludge initially came out of the tank's tap, the water soon ran clear. The group exploring the chambers quickly realised that they had discovered Stay Behind Cave. Although a survival manual for Operation Tracer was compiled, the Gibraltar Caving Group has not yet been able to access it.
1112 Under the auspices of the Gibraltar Museum, the group performed a survey of the complex in conjunction with the Spanish organisation GIEX, a Speleological Research Group from Jerez de la Frontera. After detailed measurements, member Mark Ainsworth used a computer to generate drawings of the complex. In addition, 3-dimensional images were created utilising a survey technique by GIEX member J.
In October 2002, the Gibraltar Caving Group conducted an urgent environmental survey of Little Bay Cliff after the allocation of the bid for the planned cliff stabilisation project, but before the work commenced. The survey was done on behalf of the Government of Gibraltar and included visual inspection and photography of the site. 4 In 2004, members of the caving group collaborated with the University of London's Department of Earth Sciences on a project to determine the reaction of stalagmites to weather and seasons.
Lower St. Michael's Cave in Gibraltar was utilised as an on-site laboratory.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.
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