Only Human
"You're only human", is something Gabzryel Sommerfields heard all his life. What is said in a dispowering manner will become his own strength...
Written by Melodie Rivers; first draft April 10 2020
Written by Melodie Rivers; first draft April 10 2020
The class fell silent as the door closed, and Gabzryel (his cool name; real name "David") hushed his friends to bring his full attention to the newly arrived teacher. Professor Shalom surveyed the classroom, and satisfied by its calm, began the philosophy class, with his usual lack of preamble:
"The Boats Problem. An anime first presented it, and as much as I detest such entertainment, I consider this philosophical paradigm as a new Classic of thought experiments, for it debates the usefulness of actions based on morality and ethical ideals."
He turned to the chalkboard to begin illustrating.
"The Boats Problem is an evolution of the Trolley Problem. A full-speed trolley, whose breaks have failed, reaches a railway lane fork. On the right lane, five individuals are bound on the tracks, and cannot escape the incoming trolley, while on the left lane, only one individual is similarly trapped. Does the trolley turn right or left?"
Hands in the classroom shot up; but Professor Shalom waved them off.
"Don't answer that. The answer is obvious: the best moral and ethical option is to sacrifice the few for the many. The trolley conductor will obviously choose to hit the one individual to save the five individuals.
>> But this is where the Boats Problem takes it up a notch. This paradigm reveals the deep flaw behind the ideal of actions based upon morality and ethics. In fact, although the choices will fit society's ideal of "sacrificing the few for the many" you won't like the ultimate answer even though it is irrefutable. So..."
He erased the board and scribbled again.
"There are 501 people left in the world, split between two boats. One contain 300, the other contains 200 and you. Both boats encounter a mechanical failure and will soon sink. You are the only one who can repair the boats; but you can only repair one. What do you choose? Do you repair the boat with 300 people, or your own, with 200?"
Gabzryel opened his mouth, but an overwhelming majority answered:
"The boat with 300 people."
Professor Shalom smiled.
"Indeed. It is the most ethical option. But as you can save only one boat, the 200 you're abandoning will actively try to stop you. As any threatened mob attack does, it gets violent, and to save the 300, you are forced to kill them. But you get to save the boat with the majority of people. Good enough, right?"
The students remained in a shocked silence. Gabzryel raised his hands, but Professor Shalom dismissed him before continuing:
"Listen, the paradigm isn't over. The remaining 300 people split in two boats. One has 200 people, the other has 100 people and you. Another mechanical failure affect both boats, and you are once again faced with the dilemma: do you save your own boat of 100 people, or do you save the boat with the majority of 200 people?"
No answer came, and Professor Shalom coldly smiled.
"Not too keen to make a decision, are you now? But let's not forget our duty as human beings: to make the most ethical and moral choice possible. So you save the 200-person boat. Again, your own 100-person boat dies in the ensuing mob fighting. But you made the ethical choice, you saved the majority.
>> The remaining 200 people split in two boats. One has 125, and the other, yours, has 75. The same threat happen, you are faced with the same dilemma, and you make the ethical choice: 125 person saved, 75 dead.
>> Over again: 75 people on one boat, and 40 on the other. Same threat, same choice, and same result: 75 saved, 40 dead. Now, you justify yourself: you've always tried to save the most people possible. You've made the most ethical and moral choices. But the scenario continues. 45 against 30. 30 against 15. 20 against 10. 15 against 5. 9 against 6. 6 against 3... 4 against 2. 2 against 1, and finally, you against the survivor."
Professor Shalom smirked at his students' stunned shocks.
"Here is where the ideal of actions for the greater good resulted: ultimately, you are responsible for everyone's death by choosing the morally right choice. To be fair, both choices comes down to the same. But the point of this paradigm showcase something philosophers have argued for many centuries, even millennium: Morality and Ethics are only an illusion. And once you start understanding that, you can see..."
Gabzryel's hand shot up. Professor Shalom sighed and nodded his permission; Gabzryel spoke:
"There's actually an overlooked third option: I save both boats."
Professor Shalom looked at him blankly, then shook his head.
"You can't; only one boat can be saved."
"Why?" Gabzryel countered. "It's impossible for two boats to have a synchronized failure. So there is a way."
"Realism is not the point; the end result is," Shalom annoyingly retorted.
"What result? It's absurdly skewed. Why would the 200-people turn against me? Why do they need to be killed to save the others? Why can't I tie them up, or put them in lifeboats, or bring them with a cord to the other boat? Or I could even guide the second boats via communication on how to fix their boat. Or since synchronized failures are impossible, simply save both boats. Or even..."
"Enough!" Shalom slammed the desk. "You can't save both boats, that's the rule!"
"And why couldn't I?"
Shalom was visibly furious.
"Because you're a simple human! Not a superhero, not a TV character... A mere human!"
Gabzryel smiled innocently.
"You may not do so, but I believe in human ingenuity. And I believe that both boats can be saved. Because ultimately, your skewed result for that boat paradigm is to rise the issue about the moral effect of humanity versus nature, or of any two opposing factions. The ultimate argument that you skew by banishing morality through the Boats Problem, is to say that only one of any two factions can ever be saved, and you use the paradigm to prevent the unusual option of doing the right thing and saving both.
>> The paradigm is flawed. Both boats can be saved, not one or the other; and all of life can be saved, not one faction over another. Where there's a will, there's a way. And add a billion "mere" humans who believe it... What world would it become?"
Professor Shalom was furious.
"Expect a minus C on your exams tomorrow, David."
"Well, some people write minus Cs on exams, and some people saves both boats"
The class laughed but quickly subsided at the Professor's furious glare.
But Gabzryel merely smirked. Yes, I'm only human. And I will save both boats.
"The Boats Problem. An anime first presented it, and as much as I detest such entertainment, I consider this philosophical paradigm as a new Classic of thought experiments, for it debates the usefulness of actions based on morality and ethical ideals."
He turned to the chalkboard to begin illustrating.
"The Boats Problem is an evolution of the Trolley Problem. A full-speed trolley, whose breaks have failed, reaches a railway lane fork. On the right lane, five individuals are bound on the tracks, and cannot escape the incoming trolley, while on the left lane, only one individual is similarly trapped. Does the trolley turn right or left?"
Hands in the classroom shot up; but Professor Shalom waved them off.
"Don't answer that. The answer is obvious: the best moral and ethical option is to sacrifice the few for the many. The trolley conductor will obviously choose to hit the one individual to save the five individuals.
>> But this is where the Boats Problem takes it up a notch. This paradigm reveals the deep flaw behind the ideal of actions based upon morality and ethics. In fact, although the choices will fit society's ideal of "sacrificing the few for the many" you won't like the ultimate answer even though it is irrefutable. So..."
He erased the board and scribbled again.
"There are 501 people left in the world, split between two boats. One contain 300, the other contains 200 and you. Both boats encounter a mechanical failure and will soon sink. You are the only one who can repair the boats; but you can only repair one. What do you choose? Do you repair the boat with 300 people, or your own, with 200?"
Gabzryel opened his mouth, but an overwhelming majority answered:
"The boat with 300 people."
Professor Shalom smiled.
"Indeed. It is the most ethical option. But as you can save only one boat, the 200 you're abandoning will actively try to stop you. As any threatened mob attack does, it gets violent, and to save the 300, you are forced to kill them. But you get to save the boat with the majority of people. Good enough, right?"
The students remained in a shocked silence. Gabzryel raised his hands, but Professor Shalom dismissed him before continuing:
"Listen, the paradigm isn't over. The remaining 300 people split in two boats. One has 200 people, the other has 100 people and you. Another mechanical failure affect both boats, and you are once again faced with the dilemma: do you save your own boat of 100 people, or do you save the boat with the majority of 200 people?"
No answer came, and Professor Shalom coldly smiled.
"Not too keen to make a decision, are you now? But let's not forget our duty as human beings: to make the most ethical and moral choice possible. So you save the 200-person boat. Again, your own 100-person boat dies in the ensuing mob fighting. But you made the ethical choice, you saved the majority.
>> The remaining 200 people split in two boats. One has 125, and the other, yours, has 75. The same threat happen, you are faced with the same dilemma, and you make the ethical choice: 125 person saved, 75 dead.
>> Over again: 75 people on one boat, and 40 on the other. Same threat, same choice, and same result: 75 saved, 40 dead. Now, you justify yourself: you've always tried to save the most people possible. You've made the most ethical and moral choices. But the scenario continues. 45 against 30. 30 against 15. 20 against 10. 15 against 5. 9 against 6. 6 against 3... 4 against 2. 2 against 1, and finally, you against the survivor."
Professor Shalom smirked at his students' stunned shocks.
"Here is where the ideal of actions for the greater good resulted: ultimately, you are responsible for everyone's death by choosing the morally right choice. To be fair, both choices comes down to the same. But the point of this paradigm showcase something philosophers have argued for many centuries, even millennium: Morality and Ethics are only an illusion. And once you start understanding that, you can see..."
Gabzryel's hand shot up. Professor Shalom sighed and nodded his permission; Gabzryel spoke:
"There's actually an overlooked third option: I save both boats."
Professor Shalom looked at him blankly, then shook his head.
"You can't; only one boat can be saved."
"Why?" Gabzryel countered. "It's impossible for two boats to have a synchronized failure. So there is a way."
"Realism is not the point; the end result is," Shalom annoyingly retorted.
"What result? It's absurdly skewed. Why would the 200-people turn against me? Why do they need to be killed to save the others? Why can't I tie them up, or put them in lifeboats, or bring them with a cord to the other boat? Or I could even guide the second boats via communication on how to fix their boat. Or since synchronized failures are impossible, simply save both boats. Or even..."
"Enough!" Shalom slammed the desk. "You can't save both boats, that's the rule!"
"And why couldn't I?"
Shalom was visibly furious.
"Because you're a simple human! Not a superhero, not a TV character... A mere human!"
Gabzryel smiled innocently.
"You may not do so, but I believe in human ingenuity. And I believe that both boats can be saved. Because ultimately, your skewed result for that boat paradigm is to rise the issue about the moral effect of humanity versus nature, or of any two opposing factions. The ultimate argument that you skew by banishing morality through the Boats Problem, is to say that only one of any two factions can ever be saved, and you use the paradigm to prevent the unusual option of doing the right thing and saving both.
>> The paradigm is flawed. Both boats can be saved, not one or the other; and all of life can be saved, not one faction over another. Where there's a will, there's a way. And add a billion "mere" humans who believe it... What world would it become?"
Professor Shalom was furious.
"Expect a minus C on your exams tomorrow, David."
"Well, some people write minus Cs on exams, and some people saves both boats"
The class laughed but quickly subsided at the Professor's furious glare.
But Gabzryel merely smirked. Yes, I'm only human. And I will save both boats.