[Niamh.]

Moral Dilemma

You live in an apartment with several other people and were arriving home late from work only to find that the whole complex is on fire. You see two neighbors on the front lawn. One of your neighbors is busy talking to the 911 operator and trying to call for the fire department. You ask the other neighbor, who is so severely burned that he can not move effectively, what the situation is. Your neighbor informs you this: There are seven individuals still inside that apartment: a clinically brain dead relative of his, a severely mentally handicapped woman, an infant, your dog, a senile old man, a man, and a pregnant woman. The fire had recently started but is quickly spreading and they are all unconscious.

You assess the situation and realize that you may be able to save some of the seven individuals inside but not all. You don't know how many you can save, but rush in nevertheless to save someone. Once inside the apartment, you then run a mental list of who you should save first. You know where each of the individuals are because you've lived with these individuals long enough to know where each of their rooms are.

The question is this: who would you save first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and last? Make a list and justify it.

It is guaranteed that you will not be able to save the last individual on your list.

No cutting corners.

Mine would be :

Spoiler:

1 - Infant
2 - Pregnant lady
3 - Severely mentally Handicapped woman
4 - Man
5 - Senile Old man
6 - my Dog
7 - A Clinically dead relative of his

My reasoning would be to go for the baby first as that instinct to protect a child would kick in I think, the pregnant lady second as that's two people, the handicapped lady next as she might not be as able as the man to rescue herself, the man next, I chose him over the senile old man as he is old and has had his life all ready and is on the way out anyway with that disease, unfortunately my poor dog second last because as much as I love my dogs I value human life over animals and lastly the clinically dead relative because........well........he's already dead really.

Oh and btw you can't get any of the rescued people to help you rescue anyone else.

Taken from here :
http://www.tombraiderforums.com/showthread.php?t=180668

[Kate!]

Oh, this is an excellent one Niamh. I'll have a think.

[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Moral Dilemma

You live in an apartment with several other people and were arriving home late from work only to find that the whole complex is on fire. You see two neighbors on the front lawn. One of your neighbors is busy talking to the 911 operator and trying to call for the fire department. You ask the other neighbor, who is so severely burned that he can not move effectively, what the situation is. Your neighbor informs you this: There are seven individuals still inside that apartment: a clinically brain dead relative of his, a severely mentally handicapped woman, an infant, your dog, a senile old man, a man, and a pregnant woman. The fire had recently started but is quickly spreading and they are all unconscious.

1st. The infant.
2nd. Pregnant woman
3rd. Man
4th. Handicapped woman.
5th. Senile man
6th. My dog
7th. Brain dead person.

I would save the child first because they have their whole life ahead of them. And I would think that if a child was left alone in the building the parents/grandparents/whatever must be somewhere near...possibly too burnt or whatever to go and rescue them themselves.

The pregnant woman second as, as niamh said, its two lives. Plus the longer they stay in a burning building the more likely it is that the baby will be affected by the fumes.

The man third. He is the last of the people who in my head would actually know whats going on. I'm assuming hes healthy and that.

I was torn between the senile man and the mentally handicapped woman for fourth and fifth. Mostly because I do not know HOW mentally handicapped the woman is. The senile man probably wont fully understand whats going on, and being elderly chances are he has less of a life left than anyone else, plus being senile isnt much of a life anyway (my mother works with people like that). As I do not know the age of the woman, I would save her first. Though to be honest, if she was totally gone mentally, it would just be a toss up between these. As IMO, neither have a life to start with.

I would chose my dog after this, because an animal is still part of the family, no matter how sad that sounds. A clinically braindead person is already dead to me, and I would bet they wish they were too...I actually think its quite cruel to keep them alive. One of gavins friends was severely beaten a few years back, and had always said if he was going to be left 'cabbaged' (the word he used) then he would want the machines turned off...something I have always said myself too. His mother chose to go against his wishes and keep him alive. He now cant move or think for himself or anything. I think thats wrong.

[Kate!]

Back from the shops, had a think about this while tootling round tesco metro. Also had a nosy at Niamh and Vicky's answers, mine are similar apart from the order for the dog. Here goes.

1st. The infant.
2nd. Pregnant woman.
3rd. My dog
4th. Man..
5th. Handicapped woman.
6th. Senile Man.
7th. Brain dead person.

Without question, my first instinct would be to automatically get the child and the pregnant woman out. I'd go for the child first and get to the pregnant lady as quickly as possible. The child has their whole life in front of them, and as mentioned already, the pregnant lady accouunts for two lives, she may already have a family as well, but even if not I'd still choose her second. Then I'd get my dog out, while I wouldn't hesitate with regards to my first two choices, then I'd get a little selfish, sorry but my pet would be like a family member to me so that's the reason.

Then the man, as I'm also assuming he has no health problems or other issues.

The handicapped woman and the senile man was the toughest to choose between but having to make a quick decision I'd put the woman first. Having worked with senile and dementia patients, it's not a life they have, it's an existence. Sad, yet true

And the braindead person last, as this is an even bigger example of an existence as compared to a life.

That was a really interesting dilemma, and very thought provoking. It makes you think about yourself as well, I like to think of myself as mostly unselfish, but here I definitely would show a degree of selfishness to save my dog.

[Ammi]

Infant: always a child's life first
Pregnant woman: still an unborn child's life
handicapped woman: vulnerable adult less able to help herself
man: a healthy adult
senile old man: once again a vulnerable adult but an older one would get less precedence
brain dead relative..dog..really not sure..any human life would take precedence over an animal but they're brain dead..so I think perhaps the dog

[Ramsay]

1. Baby
2. Pregnant Chick
3. My Dog
4. Man
5. Handicapped Woman
6. Senile Old Man
7. Brain Dead Person

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Ammi

Infant: always a child's life first
Pregnant woman: still an unborn child's life
handicapped woman: vulnerable adult less able to help herself
man: a healthy adult
senile old man: once again a vulnerable adult but an older one would get less precedence
brain dead relative..dog..really not sure..any human life would take precedence over an animal but they're brain dead..so I think perhaps the dog

Same as me

[Samuel.]

1. My dog (Selfishly I'd save my dog first. He'd most likely mean the most to me, and be my first concern upon seeing the complex on fire.)
2. Pregnant woman (Two lives are more important than one.)
3. Infant (As stated, whole life ahead of her/him.)
4. Man

5/6/7. Severely mentally handicapped woman/Senile old man/Clinically brain dead relative of his (Not to sound horrible, but I honestly wouldn't put myself in risk for any of them. Especially by the time I've saved 4 people already, I can't imagine the place being in anyway a safe place to be.)

[Kate!]

Originally Posted by Karl

1. Baby
2. Pregnant Chick
3. My Dog
4. Man
5. Handicapped Woman
6. Senile Old Man
7. Brain Dead Person

same order as moi