(See initial post here)(See first situation here)
A sailor in charge of a lifeboat deliberately rows away from several people still in the water. He knows that an attempt to take any more into the boat will result in its being overturned and in the death of most of those already in the boat.
2 comments:
1. The good effect is intended. The sailor wants to save lives. He is not willing the death of those still in the water. (Indeed, they may still be picked up by others).
2. The action (rowing the boat) is indifferent.
3. The good effect (saving those already in the lifeboat) is not produced by the death's of those in the water.
4. The reason is proportionate (saving lives while forsaking others).
This one seems just as easy as the first, but I am not sure that I have done #2 correctly. Is the action "rowing the boat" or is it "leaving the others". I feel fairly confident in my answer here, but I am not sure. The next three situations are much harder.
Again, I agree; rowing the boat away is an action to save the lives of those in the boat, and not to leave the others behind. I suppose that in actual practice, the difficulty would be if one only believed that taking on more people would bring the boat to tipping point, but they were not absolutely certain.
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