Utilitarianism

[JellyDonut]

The question never specified the identity of the child but I digress

Well, it would be like 'killing child Hitler' plus saving millions from some sort of cancer, a double whammy. In that context, I would kill the child instantly cause I am awesome

[transgression]

everything is more beautiful because we're doomed

[Bhootnike]

I love it how my post just got ignored hahaha..
it wasnt that badd was it;p

[Mao]

I love it how my post just got ignored hahaha..
it wasnt that badd was it;p

I did read it, though the question it poses is one that is quite standard to utilitarianism discussions.

Utilitarianism in its extreme essentially comes down to cold logic vs humanity. There is no good position in this debate.

[EvangelionZeta]

I love it how my post just got ignored hahaha..
it wasnt that badd was it;p

I did read it, though the question it poses is one that is quite standard to utilitarianism discussions.

The question essentially comes down to cold logic vs humanity. There is no position in this debate.

I think that's an oversimplification - even within "cold logic" and "humanity", there are a myriad of positions one could take.  Utilitarianism, for instance, has several different forms (preference utilitarianism, classical utilitarianism, etc.), and often what we take to mean as "humanity" can really be reduced to something akin to utilitarianism (weighing up costs vs benefits) as well.  What is "humanity", for instance?

[Panicmode]

yep, if we couldn't make decisions according to logic, this world would have descended into anarchy long ago - but does that mean we're "robots?" - no. Careful of the connotation (1st response). Utilizing logic and reasoning should not mean we are associated with "cold blooded, heartless beings."

No, but when logic becomes the sole factor in determining choices, this is where we are lead.

Also,

I did read it, though the question it poses is one that is quite standard to utilitarianism discussions.

Utilitarianism in its extreme essentially comes down to cold logic vs humanity. There is no good position in this debate.

This is essentially what I was trying to argue against Water when we had our little debate in chat 

[giveup]

You would of course kill the baby, what sort of moral crossroad are you guys finding yourself at? Weighing up the lives taken by this said "horrible disease" or the single life of a baby, of which people emphasize 100x more than a grown person.

It's completely ridiculous, the funny thing being: many females, given their primal need to take care of an infant, would not choose this option.

edit: I'm always posting in topics that have many pages... and I never read everyone else's comments, I beat what I said was stated in everyone's post

[s...]

Two things:

ONE:
Killing an innocent child? ARE YOU CRAZY? Yess, okay, people wouldn't die from cancer etc., but wouldn't you feel guilty about something which hasn't yet been corrupted by all the shit in the world? A child has the potential to grow into someone amazing, and also, WHAT IF THE CHILD WAS YOURS?? Would you still kill he/she to save others? Yes, I may be selfish and a crazy cat lady etc., but sometimes diseases are there to do bring out the best in people. If there were no diseases there would be no doctors, pharamacists etc., so life wouldn't be worth living for some.

Also, the death of the child means that there would be unnecessary sadness and pain in the world. There is nothing worse than being told that someone you love has died. 

TWO:
Hitler: OUCH! Although he wasn't the most, well, great person alive, at least in retrospective we learnt a lesson from him, right? And also, we can't be too mean on him right? Yes, millions died because of him( and that was really horrible), but he was still a human, and we should treat him like one.

s.

[giveup]

Two things:

ONE:
Killing an innocent child? ARE YOU CRAZY? Yess, okay, people wouldn't die from cancer etc., but wouldn't you feel guilty about something which hasn't yet been corrupted by all the shit in the world? A child has the potential to grow into someone amazing, and also, WHAT IF THE CHILD WAS YOURS?? Would you still kill he/she to save others? Yes, I may be selfish and a crazy cat lady etc., but sometimes diseases are there to do bring out the best in people. If there were no diseases there would be no doctors, pharamacists etc., so life wouldn't be worth living for some.

Also, the death of the child means that there would be unnecessary sadness and pain in the world. There is nothing worse than being told that someone you love has died. 

TWO:
Hitler: OUCH! Although he wasn't the most, well, great person alive, at least in retrospective we learnt a lesson from him, right? And also, we can't be too mean on him right? Yes, millions died because of him( and that was really horrible), but he was still a human, and we should treat him like one.

s.

Oh shit, this bitch is crazy. 
The absence of disease would spell job lose of the people that fight to maximize human wellbeing? You're actually being a conservationist of medical treatment when there is the potential to extinguish human suffering, that does not make sense.

If the baby was my own, I'd have to. There would be no hesitation, it would pain me to do but I'd of course have to do it. I'd also probably follow doing this with killing myself. The same would go if I had to kill myself in exchange of curing the same disease.

The thing about a baby being uncorrupted is completely absurd, and also puts my previous post's CASE IN POINT.
I foresee the lose of my single respect point with this point.

[s...]

Thanks for calling me a bitch.

Obviously you haven't dealt with someone close to you dying.

oh, and giveup, I am a female.

s.

[giveup]

oh, and giveup, I am a female.

>"the funny thing being: many females, given their primal need to take care of an infant, would not choose this option."
>"bitch"
>"CASE IN POINT"
>female gender symbol on your post

I was fully aware.

Obviously you haven't dealt with someone close to you dying.

Calling you a bitch was followed by the emoticon with the tongue sticking out ( ), implying I wasn't all too serious.
And I don't see how dealing with someone who was close to dying would change my opinion in anyway, would it make me appreciate the strength that comes from having a life ripped apart? (as you had said)

[ninwa]

It's completely ridiculous, the funny thing being: many females, given their primal need to take care of an infant, would not choose this option.

oh please, do me a favour -_-

[s...]

okay, well:

say that you have just killed your child to save nations dying.
unless you have no conscience at all, you would feel at least some sort of waste and pain, right?? (please tell me guys have feelings too

ALSO:
Murder is considered breaking a law right, so even if you save all those people, you would still go to jail, and have to reflect on the fact that you KILLED SOMEONE.

s.

[ninwa]

Kill 1 to save millions

Yeah I'd feel bad but I wouldn't be satan by any means

[giveup]

It's completely ridiculous, the funny thing being: many females, given their primal need to take care of an infant, would not choose this option.

oh please, do me a favour -_-

Do you see a boy nurturing a plastic baby, as you see with girls?
Although, primal wasn't the right word...I suppose it's a psychological trait that ensures that offspring are well taken care of?

okay, well:

say that you have just killed your child to save nations dying.
unless you have no conscience at all, you would feel at least some sort of waste and pain, right?? (please tell me guys have feelings too

ALSO:
Murder is considered breaking a law right, so even if you save all those people, you would still go to jail, and have to reflect on the fact that you KILLED SOMEONE.

s.

The personal repercussions are irrelevant. Let's say that with curing the disease, the knowledge of the diseases existence were to also disappear. This is probably a better question as your actions by those around you are not understood, and you're now the maniacal person saying you killed a baby in order to cure a disease.

It seems psychopathic to say: "yeah, I'd kill a baby".
But would you rather personally be accountable for each death to that disease here on after?