I found it to be very interesting to learn about the specific types of dilemmas in this reading. Many of them were new to me. I could not help but think of situations that I personally have experienced each one of them. Volunteer’s dilemma was a curious one for me. Sacrificing oneself for the good of the masses is the very noble, but I am not sure how many people would be willing to so. There is always an underlying a mentality of “someone else will do it” for humans. I appreciate that the author explained that this phenomenon also happens for animals, with the migrating wildebeests. I think this shows that moral dilemmas are an instinctual part of life. They often have to do with survival and thriving, not just human characteristics.
I have learned about some specific game theories before in my economic classes before. They have always made me nervous because I do not do well being in situations like that, especially the prisoner’s dilemma. I like to think the best in people, and because of this I have a feeling that I’d be the one going to jail (or receiving the lower utility). I think that this has an interesting connection with the distinction between allowing and doing. I am much more willing to allow something mediocrely bad to happen than to do something worse to a person in order to save myself.
I think your consideration of preferring the allowance of something to happen rather than actively producing something negative is interesting. It pins the moral issue between choosing to take action or to let someone else do it. And since the issue is so elemental and instinctual, I wonder if there is a way to counteract the negative effects/consequences when they are based on instinct? Or is there a need to?
I think the “someone else will do it” mentality is especially apparent when looking at modern responses to climate change. If you ask the leader of almost any major global power, they will agree that climate change is a problem that needs to be addressed and will agree to minor concessions but no one wants to be the first country to tackle the crisis head on because of the enormous economic cost and potential backlash. Everyone keeps waiting for someone else to take the financial and political hit, but instead we’re all feeling the full effects of climate change that will soon be irreparable.
“There is always an underlying a mentality of “someone else will do it” for humans. I appreciate that the author explained that this phenomenon also happens for animals, with the migrating wildebeests. ” I think this is a mentalittly that is detramatible to our society. This is the problem with climate change, littering, leaving things behind and everything else we are to lazy to do. Why not you?