Here's a question

[qtheallpowerful]

May one go back in time and kill Hitler before the war?

If we were to throw out all SpaceTime Continuum issues, the question is doubly potent.

Discuss.

Comments

[the_feral_cat]

The example with Hitler has a flaw. No matter how you disregard SpaceTime Continuum issues, if one knew Hitler was going to play a major role in the extermination of millions of people and went ahead and killed him, this alters the course of history. Likewise, if one traveled back in time because they could in order to kill Hitler, knowing what he will do, this still changes history. The world would not be what it is today if Hitler had not done what he had done.

However, if your question is if it's moral to punish someone for doing something before they do it, my initial feeling is that it's not. One cannot know what someone is going to do until that person does it. Even if they tell you they're going to do it, you still do not know for certain they will go through with it. Therefore you can't punish someone if they haven't done anything. That would be equivalent to punishing someone just for thinking, and that is definitely morally unacceptable.

Although, if you "knew" what someone was going to do with at most 99% certainty, it would be alright in my book to at least try to prevent the "bad" thing from happening. Without the means of killing, mind you.