Would you sacrifice your child to save the world?

I shoot the scientist.

I’d kill the scientist. His data are already gone anyway, right?

My kids are my world so no, mister science guy, you’re fucked!!

Am I wrong in assuming this question was a result of the way this thread is going? If so, it seems you were arguing that unless we were able to determine every possible outcome and variable, we would not be able to determine whether an action is right or wrong. Let me run with your scenario for a moment…

Ok, so I kill my kid and save the scientist who apparently has the cure for every disease. Great, right? Hmmm..I’ll ignore the killing of my kid for a minute and play out the rest. So, the guy has the cure. How does this cure play out? Does the magic drug require the mass harvesting of a plant that only grows in Bolivia, requiring the displacement and cultural destruction of whole populations by mercenary armies/drug companies? Or is it something simple, like a way to convert a single drop of water into a cure for everything. Listen, we’re talking fantasy here, so I suppose I can’t leave anything out of the discussion. Ok, so we are able to cheaply make this cure and distribute it to every corner of the planet. What impact does that have on life expectancy? How long can certain areas of the world sustain their way of living with exponential population growth? How long can the planet? What level of suffering will be generated by curing all diseases? Will it mean the end of humanity?

There are so many ridiculous “what ifs” that I could go on all day. What about all of the horrific monsters that we will be curing from their diseases, etc.
I’ll stop now, but I’m curious – am I taking this in the wrong direction, or is this what you had in mind?

Yeah my question mirrors @Seelix‘s – how does my sacrificing my child save the world if the scientist’s data is already destroyed?

Why’d she destroy the data?
I bet she works for the pharmaceutical industry. Do you know what a cure like that would do to the economy and the health care industry? There’s not as much money in cures as treatments. Health care is almost 18% of GDP and since our ass-backwards ponzi scheme economy is based on constant growth, war and sick people are good for it. A cure like that would raise unemployment and really tank the economy and then what would we do?

With the data already gone, and “curing every disease” in no way being “saving the world”, I’d ice the person trying to kill my kin.

Most of the world’s preventable diseases are directly created by systemic problems. I doubt any data alone would stop them.

Also, firing a warning shot only takes on bullet. Nobody else knows I only have one.

@tom_g said: What level of suffering will be generated by curing all diseases?

I think this is a hugely important question. In reality, the dioxins created as byproduct of many cancer treatments in fact goes to cause cancer in numerous people, predominantly poor neighborhoods housing people of color. The cures themselves are mostly afforded by middle and upper class whites. So the poor and ethnic minorities almost literally have the cancers of others given to them. It’s pretty sick.

“am I taking this in the wrong direction, or is this what you had in mind?”

The only thing I had in mind is to get people to think beyond emotions. I’m pleased to see you did a considerable amount of that @tom_g. I’m not looking for an answer. I’m presenting a challenge.

and yes, this question sprang from our earlier discussion. just like rock and roll sprang from the blues

I’ve given this some thought, I’d sacrifice one of my children, but I like the other one..