A question

Arpikarhu · 09-24-2005, 10:47 PM

let's say that you are walking down the street. In each hand is a hamburger tht you have just purchased with your money. Along the way you see a man who is starving. If you give him one of your hamburgers he will survive. If you do not give him one of your hamburgers he will definitely die. If you decide not to give him one of your hamburgers do you think that the government should be allowed to arrest you?

please do not answer hastily from your gut. there are some heavy implications involved in some of the answers. go read some other threads, take a walk outside, and then come back and answer.

The Sleeper · 09-24-2005, 11:00 PM

is this a question in the "are you a liberterian" quiz?

Arpikarhu · 09-24-2005, 11:04 PM

nope

The Sleeper · 09-24-2005, 11:10 PM

well the answer is clearly no. i don't know how you can possibly justify getting arrested for not being charitable

The Sleeper · 09-24-2005, 11:11 PM

and i would say that whether this man dies or not is irrelevant, since you can't possibly know that he will die, and the government cannot prove that you caused his death.

diceisgod · 09-24-2005, 11:12 PM

No the govt should not be allowed to arrest you and no there are no implications heavy or otherwise.

Arpikarhu · 09-24-2005, 11:15 PM

The Sleeper Wrote:and i would say that whether this man dies or not is irrelevant, since you can't possibly know that he will die, and the government cannot prove that you caused his death.

the question presupposes that the man will die without your hamburger and that the government will know you chose not to give it to him. dont be a tool.

The Sleeper · 09-24-2005, 11:20 PM

all of that is irrelevant since it isn't based in reality. you can't boil down issues by simplifying them like that.

The Jays · 09-24-2005, 11:37 PM

Hamburger is now my property, I cannot just go ahead and give him my property just because he so happens to be dying, why does his impending death mean that he gets to have my property for nothing?

Arpikarhu · 09-24-2005, 11:53 PM

Quote:you can't boil down issues by simplifying them like that.

but you can use a simple question like that to raise questions and incite intelligent debate on an issue.

fbd · 09-25-2005, 12:04 AM

if i see a man bleeding out of his stomach from a gunshot wound and i dont call 911, it isnt a crime. so this isnt, either

however, i would give the bleeding guy a hamburger and call 911 for the starving guy

diceisgod · 09-25-2005, 12:06 AM

If a person has reached a point where they going to starve to death, a hamburger won't save them in fact it might kill them quicker.

The Jays · 09-25-2005, 12:11 AM

Yeah, it's the dude's own fault for not feeding himself. If you ain't feeding yourself, you ain't really living.

Sir O · 09-25-2005, 12:30 AM

I did something like this a long time ago

And, no arrest.

Arpikarhu · 09-25-2005, 12:33 AM

diceisgod Wrote:If a person has reached a point where they going to starve to death, a hamburger won't save them in fact it might kill them quicker.

idiot

diceisgod · 09-25-2005, 12:39 AM

It's true though thus rendering your whole thought experiment into a total failure so now you need to go back to your old idiot schtick

HollywoodJewMoses · 09-25-2005, 12:57 AM

what if i gave him a bite?

Goatweed · 09-25-2005, 01:15 AM

are we talkin' McDonald's hamburgers, Wendy's or homemade?

The Sleeper · 09-25-2005, 01:16 AM

Arpikarhu Wrote:
Quote:you can't boil down issues by simplifying them like that.
but you can use a simple question like that to raise questions and incite intelligent debate on an issue.

yea this debate has been great so far

Goatweed · 09-25-2005, 01:31 AM

and why not cheeseburgers?