Open thread, Oct. 6 - Oct. 12, 2014

MrMind

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If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.

Notes for future OT posters:

1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.

2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one. (Immediately before; refresh the list-of-threads page before posting.)

3. Open Threads should be posted in Discussion, and not Main.

4. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.

This seems like an obvious enough thought experiment there is probably a literature on it, but I have not found any: how much vacation would it be ethical for a superhero to take? The kneejerk reaction seems to be first none. Assuming even one life saved per hour, he'd be "killing" a handful of people even going on a date (beyond or assuming away a bare psychological minimum for sanity or cetera). The next kneejerk reaction is that the first one is nuts. Thoughts/references?

And despite involving superheroes, I am seriously interested.

Exit: looks like someone beat me to this .

Worm addresses this in a somewhat round about way: Cnanprn'f srryvatf bs vagrafr thvyg sbe rirel ubhe gung fur fcraqf qbvat guvatf bgure guna hfvat ure cbjref gb urny crbcyr jrer n znwbe pbagevohgbe gb ure zragny oernxqbja naq fhofrdhrag vzcevfbazrag va gur Oveq Pntr.

3ChristianKl12y

I don't think the issue is much different than normal people donating money for betnets.

4D_Malik12y

This seems to have two mostly-orthogonal components to consider, both of which don't seem like things we can actually discuss: * First, the possibility that not-working-constantly may make the superhero more productive, and have other benefits which ultimately cash out as productivity. This is an empirical question, so it makes no sense to discuss it for superheroes. * Second, the extent to which one is obligated to sacrifice one's own non-inclusive wellbeing for others. Some people are roughly consequentialists, others are psychopaths, and there is no way to argue our way out of the disagreement - disagreements about values are settled by negotiation or by debellation, not by argument. And this applies as much to superheroes as to the rest of us.

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