tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post8064558294010185283..comments2023-10-24T04:29:23.693-06:00Comments on Atheist Ethicist: Standards for Determining Who Should Be KilledAlonzo Fyfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-80780746036079466932008-07-01T21:35:00.000-06:002008-07-01T21:35:00.000-06:00Yeah, I know I'm getting off-topic.In a previous c...Yeah, I know I'm getting off-topic.<BR/><BR/>In a previous comment, Alonzo wrote that, given the chance, he would not go back in time and kill Hitler, because Hitler was not the problem; the problem was a doctrine that said it was okay to kill people in order to improve the world.<BR/><BR/>I think he's wrong. To a great extent, Hitler really was the problem. Many of the horrors of Nazi Germany were a direct result of Hitler's personal beliefs. There may very well have been some other German dictator if Hitler had been among the people who died fighting World War I, and that other dictator may very well have started World War II. However, if not for Hitler's very personal obsessions, there probably would have been no Holocaust.<BR/><BR/>Some people really do have to be killed because they are a danger to others, there is no practical way to incapacitate them, and there is a practical way to kill them.<BR/><BR/>Furthermore, does "The only acceptable response to words and private actions are words and private actions" also apply to the words "I've hidden a bomb in Kennedy Airport" and the words "I'm going to kill the President tomorrow?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-8570574028977492252008-06-30T07:16:00.000-06:002008-06-30T07:16:00.000-06:00Doug - I'm not Alonzo, but I view this as an argue...Doug - I'm not Alonzo, but I view this as an arguement from fictional evidence. Which is a problem many such analogies have. In the case you are proposing, there is no other way to stop these criminals/terrorists/whoever in a quick and sure manner. Perhaps someday they could be stopped, but it's more than possible that they'd escape capture for long enough to do quite a bit of real harm.<BR/><BR/>The death penalty, on the other hand, is only applicable to people who are already in police custody and probably will never see the outside of a prison for the rest of their lives. There is no way for them to do any more harm.<BR/><BR/>The two situations are not nearly equivilent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-54101206138125813622008-06-28T12:38:00.000-06:002008-06-28T12:38:00.000-06:00Let's enter the realm of fantasy here...Alonzo, ha...Let's enter the realm of fantasy here...<BR/><BR/>Alonzo, have you ever heard of the manga and anime series <A HREF="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeathNote" REL="nofollow">Death Note</A>?<BR/><BR/>A "Death Note" is a magic notebook. If you write someone's name in a Death Note while picturing their face, they will die. (You can also specify the time and cause of death, but the time can't be more than 23 days after the name is written.)<BR/><BR/>So, if you had a Death Note, what would you do with it? It's a weapon, much like any other, except that it's essentially untraceable, guaranteed to be effective, and kills without inflicting collateral damage. So, if it's okay for you to shoot someone, it's okay for you to write that person's name in the Death Note. <BR/><BR/>If you see, on the news, that "John L. Badguy" has taken a school hostage and is killing children, writing "John L. Badguy" in the Death Note is probably a good thing to do.<BR/><BR/>If I had a Death Note, I'd seriously consider going through the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list and writing down their names, in the hope of stopping them from killing more people...<BR/><BR/>What would you do with one?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-35789662739383390982008-06-27T13:36:00.000-06:002008-06-27T13:36:00.000-06:00Yeah, torture... great suggestion.Yeah, torture... great suggestion.G-manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09334547875471663650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-74935162588323333382008-06-27T07:03:00.000-06:002008-06-27T07:03:00.000-06:00Hi Gang, May I recommend a substitute for execut...Hi Gang,<BR/> May I recommend a substitute for execution? I have had salmonella poisoning twice in my life. It is truly horrible.<BR/> If we "injected" salmonella once a month, it would take the inmate about two weeks to overcome it, and then two weeks to look forward to another injection. Of course, over their objections, we would keep them alive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com