So from my point of view, that person would not do anything, therefore, he/she would not be guilty of not killing anyone?
I think if I know that 5 people are going to die unless I change the track of the train to kill one person, then yes, I am still "guilty" of not saving those 5. I have no responsibility for whatever happens ONLY if I know nothing about it. Once I know that a certain action will cause a specific outcome, I do get some part of responsibility for what happens.
As for the question and the choice... It will probably sound immoral, but at this point I would chose 1 person that is dear and important to me over 5 strangers (unless that person asks me not to do it or I know for sure they wouldn't want me to do it). Which is another dilemma in itself.
I also think none of it is about guilt. It's not a matter of morality and "good or bad". One human life cannot be out-measured by 5 human lives, and we cannot put a price on human life in comparisons of amounts.
There are lots of people on earth. Lots of people die every day, and no one goes on mourning for them non-stop. Strangers, people who are not personally acquainted, don't go crying over those thousands of people who die every minute.
It's only when a large number of people dies at once that we suddenly feel shocked or sad. And, supposedly, we feel "sorry" for the dead. But I think it's not sorrow or great compassion that drives people to notice catastrophes that take away lives of many. I think it's mostly fear of death itself. Death becomes more noticeable that way.
Oh, and another thing... When people are in real-life situations where everything happens fast, they normally don't think. There is no time to think, and body reactions and instincts become more pronounced... People who are trained to deal with disasters and stressful situations will probably do something fast. Some people, when faced with something horrible, will simply "freeze" because of the adrenaline rush overwhelming them. So... This philosophical dilemma kind of shows us who we are when we discuss it and think about it... but the real us can truly reveal ourselves only when actually facing it. And I do hope that none of us ever will have to deal with something like this in practice. But this is a good exercise to remind us to live more consciously and be aware even of the smallest actions and decisions in our lives.
Thanks for your comment.
I agreed with you
But as I said in other comments, there are those who do have to make this type of decision: police, firefighters, rescuers, presidents, military.
In some part of their lives, they will face these situations and what I really think is that what weighs more is to live with the decision made.
Thanks for coming by
Hello there, @araksa-dragonkey!
Yeah. Lots of people die every day, and no one goes on mourning for them. That makes death more palpable.
But in extreme situations always the need of many overcomes the need of few.