Who Would You Save?

You have a one-man parachute on a falling plane; Would you give the parachute to your pregnant wife, physically disabled son, or would you use it yourself? Who would you save?

A fatwa was issued for the killing of the princes at an early age in order to ensure the survival of the society, so that there would be no rebellion and many deaths in the future, and the state would remain intact. While there are those who say that he should have been killed, the majority was not approving of these actions. Killing an innocent person is a great sin, according to belief, in the Qur’an; It is stated that the one who kills an oppressed soul for no reason is eternal hell.

While some do not advocate the murder of the princes at a young age, they state that the issue should be taken into account according to the conditions of the day. In short, empathy is required.

Let’s empathize with a few questions:

• Imagine a person, in front of him are two boats that are sinking. Five children are trapped inside one, and his own child is trapped inside the other. He does not have time to save two boats at the same time. If you were him, which one would you save?
• A doctor working in a hospital has an elderly patient and 5 other patients who will die if the necessery organ is not found quickly. Should doctor who knows that his old patient’s organs compatible for these 5 patients should let his patient die?
• There are two ways in front of a minibus whose brake is broken. In one of these, minibus will hit the wall and it will hit a child is standing on the road, on the other. The driver will either drive the minibus to the wall and cause the death of 5 passengers along with him, or he will drive it on the child and cause the death of the child, while saving himself and his passengers. What would you do if you were the driver?

About the doctor and the patient subject; It seems that it is a little easier to make a choice in this regard, since the organ to be taken does not have the consent of another person and taking it without permission will constitute theft; and what is currently being implemented is to keep that old patient alive. But if his organs will give life to 5000 people or all humanit instead of 5, what should we do?

In the empathy questions above, it is very difficult to say that which decision is more correct or more ethical.

So what would our choice be if there were animals instead of humans in the examples above?

Animals are also alive. However, in the above dilemmas we would sacrifice the sick cow and choose to keep the 5 cows alive; we would leave the crippled ox and attach the parachute to the pregnant cow; we would drive the truck over the lamb and we would save to 5 sheep.

If you were faced with these situations, who would you save? You can share your thoughts in the comment section…

January 7, 2024