Of Lifeboats, Trolleys, and the Asymptomatic Spreader

[starshipcat]

If you've studied psychology, ethics, or several other branches of the social sciences, you've probably come across the Lifeboat Problem and the Trolley Problem. Both of them challenge students to look at how we respond to situations in which it's simply not possible to save everyone, and in particular, to look at the unconscious assumptions that

Comments

[lindahoyland]

You are so right.

[starshipcat]

Thanks. We've been struggling financially as a result of losing the income from conventions (if things had been normal, we would be finishing setup for our biggest convention right now), and a whole lot of other people I know from the convention circuit are also struggling, and I've been trying to figure out how to discuss it without sounding Incredibly Selfish. Especially since some family members have come down on the side of "if you talk about money when people's lives are at stake, you are a moral monster," apparently not realizing or understanding that if the economy totally tanks and people can't earn a living, people are going to die, perhaps far more than are saved by these measures, and even more people's lives will be shortened or permanently blighted.