In the past, the Trolley Problem was given in written or verbal form: Would you sacrifice the few, to save the many?
Researchers at the University of Plymouth added virtual reality and reported: “While all individuals were more likely to sacrifice others in these immersive [virtual] environments than in questionnaire-based [written] assessments, people with strong psychopathic traits were more likely to generate these harmful actions with greater physical power.” Dr Francis, said: "This research highlights our proneness to moral inconsistency; what we say and what we do can be very different.”
These researchers theorize, that the brains of psychopaths are geared towards short-term rewards and tend to ignore long-term consequences. If they are correct, this begs a new question:
Who has the “right” to sacrifice the few, to save the many?
During WW11 General Douglas MacArthur, General Dwight Eisenhower, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and the top Manhattan Project scientists were strongly opposed to dropping the atom bomb on Japan. Nonetheless, President Truman ordered two atom bombs dropped on Japan. In Truman’s mind, he was serving the greater good, by sacrificing the few, to save the many.
The “few” Truman sacrificed were hundreds of thousands of Japanese infants, children, men, women and old people. Politicians, especially right-wingers, have assumed the right to sacrifice the few, to serve the many.
When people apply the greater-good logic to moral questions I think it’s time we started asking who are the few? Mr. Silvercloud’s petri dish applies on so many different levels, I can’t think of a better answer.
