You can only save one— who do you choose? - Doug MacKay

Puzzle through the ethical dilemma where two ships are in distress but you can only save one, and decide: which do you choose?

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You are the captain of an interstellar cargo transport headed to port when you receive two distress calls. The first is from a labor ship, whose passengers are running out of oxygen. The other from a luxury space cruiser which has lost a thruster, sending them careening into danger. With only enough time to save one ship, which should you choose? Doug Mackay explores this classic ethical dilemma.

Lesson by Doug Mackay, directed by Avi Ofer.

This video was produced in collaboration with the Parr Center for Ethics, housed within the renowned Philosophy Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Parr Center is committed to integrating abstract work in ethical theory with the informed discussion of practical ethical issues, and prides itself on the development of innovative and inclusive approaches to moral and civic education.

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[samswift]

From a practical perspective, one might also consider prioritizing the first distress call, especially if you were already in the process of responding to it

[hanzohashashi]

As someone who used to be a lifeguard, I was told to always prioritize the one who is closer from where I'm standing. Every life is precious

[Kami-mktu]

"Alright, I've decided, let's set course for."
"They are all dead sir, you took too long to decide."

[moharikram]

Definitely first distress call.

- You're already heading there. Changing course might be the worst option which is both of them perish.
- Telic 12 have bigger problems because humans CANNOT breathe in space. The explosion causing the ships to lose oxygen whilst Pareto losing thruster, all ships have alternative control system. As long as the captain of the ships alive, you can juggle alongside the belt around the gaps. Their chances to survive is more apparent than the other one who losing oxygen at the extreme rate.

[joshdudeguy]

As a nurse, we were taught to prioritize by what would kill the patient sooner. Whichever one I must save first I should save first.
However, in a disaster event when we are forced to take in large quantities of patients, we also take into account which ones would not be able to be saved or which ones would take up too many resources by themselves to save (for a low possibility of success). In the Pearl Harbor attacks this was done and that part even made it to the movie (Pearl Harbor). We have to be quick on our feet and detach ourselves from the situation emotionally..

[lupetedigio]

The real problem comes after you've flipped the coin and you forget who was heads and who was tails

[HanaLuLu]

Interestingly, my natural line of thinking led me to choose the workers because there are likely families counting on them. So more tragedy and loss would occur if they died, because more people would be affected more severely.

[Xcallion]

You could also take the extremely selfish route of prioritization. Failing to rescue the college students when you could have will generate much more backlash upon you personally than failing to rescue the workers. The college students being members of affluent families are much more likely to leave behind grieving parents who may try to take vengeance on you in the form of lawsuits or even assault. On that same note, rescuing the college students is far more likely to result in some kind of personal benefit for you for the exact same reason. The grateful and affluent parents have the means and the motive to reward you.

Obviously from a moral standpoint, this isn't the correct way to go about making the decision, but it is another pattern of thought to consider. Such things may influence the final decision for many people in that scenario.

[vasilkalov]

When I went on life guard corse we were tought who to Save if 3 people are drowning - the one who is closest, then the next, then the next. This way you have the highest chance of saving at least one person. If you swim to a further one, they may drown while you go there and the time lost may cause the closest one to also drown.

[quitequeerquesadilla]

I adore the way this one is animated. It feels like you're reading a classic children's book, like The Little Prince, except you're actually being put in charge of whether people live or die!

[pjengland]

Save the passengers on the Teleck 12. You are almost there and they are running out of air. The Pareeto is still structurally sound and might be able to recover on its own; also, if you bounce to every new distress call, you will never save anyone.

[CoverBydAn]

I remember watching The 100 and the girl forced everyone to eat deceased humans to survive. She eventually said that she forced everyone so that they did not have to make that choice.

In a world where you cannot satisfy everyone, the decision maker should be empathized with, not blamed for making a decision that failed to make you happy

[lkjkhfggd]

I think in this situation (and any situation where you need to decide quickly) you save the people from the first distress call because it came first. An ambulance wouldn't stop en route and start going somewhere else just because a wealthier person also made a 911 call.

If you have to decide who gets the donated heart or something, that's tougher, but still I think it should go to whoever has been waiting for it for the longest (first in line).

[zi-le]

I would answer the first distress call based on practicality, since the workers are facing a more imminent problem: the lack of oxygen, which would result in the ultimate and undeniable death of all 30 people. The students on the other hand, are headed towards an asteroid belt, which although they have a broken thruster, there is a slim chance that they will not hit any asteroids ( or be hit by just a few, not enough to damage the ship completely.) Their ship is also a luxury ship, which I assume will have some form of safety measures that might protect its passengers. Although the chances of that are slim, if both ships are left without help, the students have a higher chance of survival.

[jacobhernandez]

My answer was save the workers first since they have limited oxygen.
The people heading towards the astroid belt aren't actually in any real danger, as astroids in the belt are hundreds of miles apart from each other. Your chances of hitting one are almost zero.
You have time.

[rameshjayaraman]

In this case, all other circumstances being equal, I would save the miners. They probably are the sole source of financial support to young family. So even if you consider lives saved/impacted, it's much more.

[dion]

Considering the fact that the middle aged men would likely have families depending on them (as is usual of those who are less well off), I think saving them would be the best option. If they die their children and wives might die or suffer heavily, as a result of losing their breadwinner. In contrast most college students don't have any dependants.

[pandasteeze]

Based on every space movie/show I’ve ever seen, a distress signal from another ship is always a trap.
I would ignore all and proceed with my life.

[abigailment]

Concept. If you were to save the workers, who _will_ die without help, they may be able to assist you in saving the college students, due to their occupation as spacecraft/station repairmen.

[nicholasharvey]

I would probably prioritize the first distress call. I would have been on my way to help them anyway, and then I got another distress call. So I wouldn’t turn back and choose a different ship because I weighed the happiness possibility. I’m already on my way to save lives, I’ll go ahead and follow through with it