The Survivors

Philosophy and Ethics

BRENT SILBY
Unlimited (UPT)
The Different Stages of Moral Development

Consider the following case:

A woman was near death from cancer. There was one drug that
could save her. It was a drug that a local scientist discovered. It
cost the scientist $200 to make the drug, but charged $2000 for
a small dose.

The woman’s husband went to everyone he knew to borrow the

money, but he only gathered $1000. He pleaded with the scientist
to let him have it cheap, but the scientist refused. He wanted all
the money. So the man got desperate and broke in to steal the
drug for his wife.

Should he have broken in and stolen the drug?

The Different Stages of Moral Development

What is your stage of moral development?

Stage One (obedience):

He should not steal the medicine because he will be put in prison,

which will mean he is a bad person.
The Different Stages of Moral Development

What is your stage of moral development?

Stage Two (self-interest):

He should steal the medicine because he will be much happier

if he saves his wife, even if he goes to prison.

Or

He should not steal the medicine because prison is a horrible

place, and he would feel worse about a jail sentence more than
his wife’s death.
The Different Stages of Moral Development

What is your stage of moral development?

Stage Three (conformity):

He should steal the medicine because his wife expects it.

Or

He should not steal the medicine because stealing is bad and

he is not a criminal.
The Different Stages of Moral Development

What is your stage of moral development?

Stage Four (law-and-order):

He should not steal the medicine because stealing is illegal

Or

He should steal the medicine and then accept the punishment

The Different Stages of Moral Development

What is your stage of moral development?

Stage Five (human rights):

He should steal the medicine because everyone has a right to

choose life, regardless of the law

Or

He should not steal the medicine because the scientist has a right
to fair compensation
The Different Stages of Moral Development

What is your stage of moral development?

Stage Six (universal human ethics):

He should steal the medicine because saving a human life is

a more fundamental value than the property rights of another
person
The Survivors

Now, let’s turn our attention to another problem.

There is a plane crash !

You know you’re in trouble when this happens

The Survivors

12 people survive, and 12 people die. The survivors find

themselves stranded in a remote mountainous region, in the
middle of nowhere. Its very cold, and there is little food.

Is okay to steal food from the backpacks of the 12 dead people?

The Survivors

How about this:

Is it okay to steal their money? It will help you survive when you
have been rescued.
The Survivors
Suppose a rescue mission is weeks away and you run out of
food.

Furthermore, the area is so remote, you can’t just walk out. You are
stuck.
The Survivors

You are starving to death! Pretty soon the the dead bodies start
to look pretty tasty.

Is it okay to slice a few pieces of meat off the dead people and
cook up a nice barbeque?
The Survivors

How would you decide who to eat first?

Discuss…
The Survivors

What if the situation was a bit different. The plane crashes but
no-one dies.

12 people are injured--some quite severely, and they won’t live

long.

Is it okay to kill them for food?

Again, who would you eat first?

Would you choose an old person to eat first, since they have lived
their life.

Or would you choose a young person…nice fresh tender young

meat is much tastier than tough old meat.
The Survivors

What if the injured people agree to be killed for food? Maybe

they offer. Is it okay then?

Could you be put on trial for murder if they agree to be killed?

The Survivors

Let’s change the situation again. The plane crashes;

no-one dies, and no-one is injured

Is it okay for a group of survivors to choose some people to

kill for food?

Everyone is healthy, so how would you decide who to eat first?

Maybe the rich could eat the poor. Would that be okay? After all,
the rich have got more to lose.

But, you wouldn’t want to eat someone who’d been living off the
street, taking drugs, eating out of garbage cans. Better to eat
someone who had a good diet.
The Survivors

Why do we have a moral problem with cannibalism?

Intelligence:
We find it problematic to eat creatures that are intelligent,
that’s why we happily eat fish.

But:
If our decision is based on level of intelligence, then is it
okay to kill and eat intellectually handicapped people?
The Survivors

Now, look at the person sitting next to you…

If you were starving, and if there were nothing else to eat, would
you eat the person sitting next to you?

For the rest of the session, small

group discussion

Perhaps discuss nice recipe ideas

*winks*
Powerpoint by BRENT SILBY

Produced at UPT
Christchurch, New Zealand
www.unlimited.school.nz