Philosophical Question:

2

Replies

  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member

    Here's a more realistic approach to the question.
    You are walking along a trail you happen to frequent. You hear a child scream nearby and you decide to investigate. As you cut through the trail and spread a bush apart you find that a bear is standing intimidatingly and the child is standing there frightened, no one else is within earshot. What do you do?

    I would pick up a large stick, position myself next to the child, tell it everything will be alright,I would then try to piss off the bear. Next step would be to hit the child as hard as i could in the knee cap and run! I think that would work well!
  • Jkmumma
    Jkmumma Posts: 254
    Not a liar. I have risked my life for the life of a strangers child. Oh the things you do in the military! We both lived, and said child is no longer a child, and is still my penpal.

    I would do it again. I wouldn't be able to look into the eyes of my own children and know I've let another child die when I could have done something about it.

    Now granted, I did NOT have children when I was in the military and made that choice. Also: I likely would have made a different choice when my children were younger, but I feel that, while I still have a lot to teach them, I've laid a solid enough foundation for them to build upon without my presence. I would also consider such a death a lesson in self sacrifice and in aiding another in a time of need.
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
    Why the hell was the kid in front of a bear driving a bus anyway? Where were the parents?
  • stevehomoki
    stevehomoki Posts: 68

    Here's a more realistic approach to the question.
    You are walking along a trail you happen to frequent. You hear a child scream nearby and you decide to investigate. As you cut through the trail and spread a bush apart you find that a bear is standing intimidatingly and the child is standing there frightened, no one else is within earshot. What do you do?

    I would pick up a large stick, position myself next to the child, tell it everything will be alright,I would then try to piss off the bear. Next step would be to hit the child as hard as i could in the knee cap and run! I think that would work well!

    I almost spilled my coffee laughing.
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member

    Here's a more realistic approach to the question.
    You are walking along a trail you happen to frequent. You hear a child scream nearby and you decide to investigate. As you cut through the trail and spread a bush apart you find that a bear is standing intimidatingly and the child is standing there frightened, no one else is within earshot. What do you do?

    I would pick up a large stick, position myself next to the child, tell it everything will be alright,I would then try to piss off the bear. Next step would be to hit the child as hard as i could in the knee cap and run! I think that would work well!

    this.
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member

    Here's a more realistic approach to the question.
    You are walking along a trail you happen to frequent. You hear a child scream nearby and you decide to investigate. As you cut through the trail and spread a bush apart you find that a bear is standing intimidatingly and the child is standing there frightened, no one else is within earshot. What do you do?

    I would pick up a large stick, position myself next to the child, tell it everything will be alright,I would then try to piss off the bear. Next step would be to hit the child as hard as i could in the knee cap and run! I think that would work well!

    I almost spilled my coffee laughing.

    Remember, you don't have to be faster than the bear. You just have to be faster than one other person. Unless there are multiple bears, and then you really should reconsider where you vacation.
  • lamanderanna
    lamanderanna Posts: 45
    Where is this child's parent?
  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
    As a mother, if I saw a child dart out in front of a car, my instict would be to push it out of the way in time.


    However, if I knew I would have to die so the child could live, no. Like many have said, I have a son and a husband, and they need me.
  • monipie
    monipie Posts: 280 Member
    yes, i would.
  • DetroitDarin
    DetroitDarin Posts: 955 Member
    At once point I wrote a check to the nation for the amount up to and including my life.

    I stand by that. If my death can bring life or secure life of another - I stand willingly.

    Sacrifice in this way would be the BEST example to my children. Best lesson to kids - selflessness and love for mankind above all things.
  • Drunkadelic
    Drunkadelic Posts: 948 Member
    nope.
  • Drunkadelic
    Drunkadelic Posts: 948 Member
    Here's a more realistic approach to the question.
    You are walking along a trail you happen to frequent. You hear a child scream nearby and you decide to investigate. As you cut through the trail and spread a bush apart you find that a bear is standing intimidatingly and the child is standing there frightened, no one else is within earshot. What do you do?

    I would pick up a large stick, position myself next to the child, tell it everything will be alright,I would then try to piss off the bear. Next step would be to hit the child as hard as i could in the knee cap and run! I think that would work well!
    I wish I could hug you
  • Cliffslosinit
    Cliffslosinit Posts: 5,044 Member
    Can I spank the child first for getting into this situation?
  • Iceman1800
    Iceman1800 Posts: 476
    No, I would not. My wife and kids depend on me to provide for them. They are my priority over anyone else. I would do that for my own kids tho. Having said that, I am on the bone marrow list and organ donation list if I die.
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
    If I didn't think I was going to die, I probably would. As a parent, i try and not get myself killed for their sake
  • Dub_D
    Dub_D Posts: 1,760 Member
    Before I had my daughter my answer would be yes, absolutely (for a child). Now that I have my daughter who needs me and relies on me, I could never leave her willingly.
  • lilacsun
    lilacsun Posts: 204 Member
    If I saw a child fall through ice or run in front of a car yes I would probably rush in without thinking but someone came up to me and said if you give you life so x will live I would say no. Like others i have my own children and would not want to leave them motherless.


    This. If I died it would be an accident for sure. I have 2 kids reliant on me. One is disabled and she needs me forever or at least as long as I can be here.
  • LadyIvysMom
    LadyIvysMom Posts: 391 Member
    Would you willingly give up your lifr to save a strangers child?

    To be clear, the child would be saved, you will die. Both criteria are absolute.

    I say no, because I'm sitting at a desk thinking rationally and thinking about how my own family needs me etc.

    In an emergency situation though, if I saw a child in danger and could shield them, I think instinct would kick in and I would protect the child. I think most adults have a natural instinct to protect children.
  • bikermike5094
    bikermike5094 Posts: 1,752 Member
    Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
  • curtnrod
    curtnrod Posts: 223 Member
    Without a doubt or a second of hesitation
  • GraceEsther
    GraceEsther Posts: 37 Member
    Yes I would.
  • LadyIvysMom
    LadyIvysMom Posts: 391 Member
    I think most people would help a child. The surety increased in me after I became a father, and I'm not sure how I'd feel if I'd never had a child.

    I have never had nor do I want children.

    I'm pretty sure that in the heat of a moment would shield a child from a hungry bear/bullet/car/whatever if put in that situation. I think it's just instinctive as an adult to want to protect children.
  • heberlonghurst
    heberlonghurst Posts: 156
    A more interesting question would be: why? How does this fit with evolutionary psychology and evolutionary biology.

    Before I had my children I would have done it in a heartbeat. Now that I have children I am much less willing to take risks. Some theories surrounding this go to "survival of the fittest species" rather than "survival of the fittest individual". Others get into more detail and go into which people we would be more willing to risk our lives to save, and they show that we would be more willing to give our lives for our own offspring than the offspring of our siblings and more willing to give our lives for our nieces and nephews (with whom we share genetic material) than complete strangers.

    We can bring this back from the extreme example of giving our lives for someone else to simply sacrificing time, money, talent, food etc for someone else rather than using it to enrich ourselves.

    If we were really willing to give our lives without thinking twice we would also be willing to sacrifice time, money, food, talent etc for complete strangers. At the end of the day we all sacrifice for others (survival of the fittest species not the fittest individual) but many of us are more willing to sacrifice for a mate (which fits into the theory as they participate with in the production of offspring) or a blood relative than we are for a complete stranger.
  • BrettPGH
    BrettPGH Posts: 4,716 Member
    Right now I'd willingly give up my life for a large meat lovers pizza. So yeah I'd save the kid.

    Or.. you know.. save the kid and rely on a sliver of watch to save my life. :wink:
  • perfectingpatti
    perfectingpatti Posts: 1,037 Member
    At once point I wrote a check to the nation for the amount up to and including my life.
    Thank you for that! I am grateful for all the people in our military who sacrifice their lives not just for my life, but for my freedom.
    Sacrifice in this way would be the BEST example to my children. Best lesson to kids - selflessness and love for mankind above all things.
    I agree.
  • perfectingpatti
    perfectingpatti Posts: 1,037 Member
    Right now I'd willingly give up my life for a large meat lovers pizza. So yeah I'd save the kid.
    Or.. you know.. save the kid and rely on a sliver of watch to save my life. :wink:
    I have no doubt you'd give your own life to save a child. Pursiung your dream of becoming a fire fighter says that about you, and that's one thing that makes you so awesome.
  • melissafaith24
    melissafaith24 Posts: 251 Member
    Oooohhh - too many variables here tugging at my heart! But I'm gonna have to go with no. I have a child of my own to live for. Couldn't leave her in this world alone. I don't have a mom here so...I know how sucky that is :(

    this...except i still have and cherish my mom.
  • shinesunfish
    shinesunfish Posts: 93 Member
    Haha, I like the implication that if you don't have kids of your own you have nothing better to do with your life than sacrifice yourself for somebody else's kid. Not picking a fight, just pointing it out! I don't think I'd sacrifice myself for someone else's child if I KNEW that I would die in the process... partly because in many situations where the "rescuer" dies, it's because they aren't doing it right (someone drowning or in a burning building should be rescued by somebody who knows what they're doing, or they can kill you too.) I'd be more apt in an extremely dangerous situation to find the proper help, even if the risk was that the child would die in the process. I honestly can't even see myself jumping in front of a bullet for a child, unless I knew for a fact that it was going to kill them before it happened. I'm pretty slow to act, and more likely to try to fix a problem after it happened (first aid until ambulances arrive, etc.) So in short, no... although I would certainly try to help if it were a normal situation where I didn't KNOW that I was going to die by helping.
  • ninisez30
    ninisez30 Posts: 101 Member
    Oooohhh - too many variables here tugging at my heart! But I'm gonna have to go with no. I have a child of my own to live for. Couldn't leave her in this world alone. I don't have a mom here so...I know how sucky that is :(

    This... I couldn't leave my kids without a mom.

    This as well, OMG!!!! sad to even think about... but worth thinking about.:brokenheart:
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    Oooohhh - too many variables here tugging at my heart! But I'm gonna have to go with no. I have a child of my own to live for. Couldn't leave her in this world alone. I don't have a mom here so...I know how sucky that is :(

    I think this. But in the heat of the moment, I probably would. If I had notice and time to think, I would probably choose to stay for the sake of my own child. His biological father is an abusive POS and hasn't been around in over a year. I would fear that with me gone, he may actually get my son...That is unless the man my son CALLS daddy and I get married and his adoption is finalized.

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