Poll: Who would you rather let die, your pet or me?
- Thread starter Brawndo
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Sorry mate, but I've been warned against prioritising people I don't (and never will) know higher than sources of emotional vestige. Counterintuitive as it may seem, it fucks up your moral compass by completely desensitising you as to when certain emotional responses are appropriate, and eventually turns you into a sociopath.
EDIT: Course, that doesn't mean I wouldn't feel really bad about it.
EDIT: Course, that doesn't mean I wouldn't feel really bad about it.
I would let you and everyone you know die before I let anyone hurt my cats let alone kill them.
Considering how value is relative and I really have no sympathy for the majority of mankind, I would probably end up saving my pet. If I had one.
Then again, this is based on the assumption that my pet is a year old, and you have somehow done something increadibly stupid to be put in a situation where I am forced to choose between saving you and my pet... Cant really think of any real scenario where something like this would happen..
Then again, in the advent of some form of natural disaster, I would probably save my pet first, and not even notice you were there. If I did, I would attempt to save you after saving my pet, so long as its not detrimental to my health.
Then again, this is based on the assumption that my pet is a year old, and you have somehow done something increadibly stupid to be put in a situation where I am forced to choose between saving you and my pet... Cant really think of any real scenario where something like this would happen..
Then again, in the advent of some form of natural disaster, I would probably save my pet first, and not even notice you were there. If I did, I would attempt to save you after saving my pet, so long as its not detrimental to my health.
While I'd love to claim that I value all human life over that of any animal, I'm going to have to disappoint you. In this scenario--which is hard to imagine, believe you me--I do not know you. You mean nothing to me, nor does your impending death evoke any amount of panic or dismay on my part, save for my general dislike of death.
My pet, however, has worked up some serious rapport with me. In this case, I'll go with my cat, Nima. I won't bore you with any details about her, save for the undeniable truth: She is worth more to me than you are. I take care of her, I raised her, and I have taken it upon myself, as her owner, to safeguard her life.
Without going into further detail, I would have to say that saving my cat over you would be done almost without thinking. Since you did not specify your age or any other important details one would look for upon making this kind of choice, I can't give you any real reasons why I would decide this. Were you a child, or perhaps a family member, the case would be different. I would have the personal strength to put aside my pet's life for these people.
I'm sorry if that seems selfish to you. I never denied that I was anything but a selfish person. I'm human. And I love my damn cat. End of story.
My pet, however, has worked up some serious rapport with me. In this case, I'll go with my cat, Nima. I won't bore you with any details about her, save for the undeniable truth: She is worth more to me than you are. I take care of her, I raised her, and I have taken it upon myself, as her owner, to safeguard her life.
Without going into further detail, I would have to say that saving my cat over you would be done almost without thinking. Since you did not specify your age or any other important details one would look for upon making this kind of choice, I can't give you any real reasons why I would decide this. Were you a child, or perhaps a family member, the case would be different. I would have the personal strength to put aside my pet's life for these people.
I'm sorry if that seems selfish to you. I never denied that I was anything but a selfish person. I'm human. And I love my damn cat. End of story.
Not at all. It's perfectly rational for people to care more about things that they care about then they do about things that they don't care about. I'm sure that you would save a close friend or a family member over me, isn't that an example of your personal attachment trumping my human rights? If neither of us have a problem with that then why should there be a problem with one of us substituting a different creature to which we hold an emotional attachment?Lord_Beric said:
*sigh*... I just lost a pet, though I've kept trying not to go on about it, this seems like the place. I don't know if you just mean the most cherished pet, or all of them, so I'll allow that all 3 of my remaining pets (2 cats, 1 medium-sized dog) would be the sacrifice.
I'm far from a misanthrope, but Jesus, my pets are totally innocent. My small cat is lucky to be alive, being born under a porch and also a runt, but she's grown into a very healthy, playful cat. My dog was abused, and it's taken years to get him to come out of his shell, and he lives for me alone as his Alpha, his leader. The other cat is kind of a ***** most of the time, until my sister returns and then she won't leave her side... she's still a little ***** though, seriously.
You want me to put all three of them to the torch, especially when only one lives with me?
I don't know you. Maybe you abuse animals! Maybe you feel like everyone who isn't American deserves natural disasters. You could even be a murderer or a rapist. Even so... even so...
This is more complicated than pets > people, this is also known > unknown, beloved > total stranger. Then again, when I think of it from a purely selfish perspective... if I myself were to die, there wouldn't be hundreds of broken hearts, there wouldn't be parades or anything. I'm a regular guy. I sympathize with those who might not have the chances that I've been given or allowed what I've been allowed. Who am I to say that they shouldn't be given that chance? My pets would die beloved... and they wouldn't know that they had a life to begin with. They can't truly fathom it. There'd be no guarantee of dying happily and understood by others when you're an unknown human. I guess... I guess I'd choose the unknown person.
Now I'm going to thank GOD I don't actually have this decision to make.
I'm far from a misanthrope, but Jesus, my pets are totally innocent. My small cat is lucky to be alive, being born under a porch and also a runt, but she's grown into a very healthy, playful cat. My dog was abused, and it's taken years to get him to come out of his shell, and he lives for me alone as his Alpha, his leader. The other cat is kind of a ***** most of the time, until my sister returns and then she won't leave her side... she's still a little ***** though, seriously.
You want me to put all three of them to the torch, especially when only one lives with me?
I don't know you. Maybe you abuse animals! Maybe you feel like everyone who isn't American deserves natural disasters. You could even be a murderer or a rapist. Even so... even so...
This is more complicated than pets > people, this is also known > unknown, beloved > total stranger. Then again, when I think of it from a purely selfish perspective... if I myself were to die, there wouldn't be hundreds of broken hearts, there wouldn't be parades or anything. I'm a regular guy. I sympathize with those who might not have the chances that I've been given or allowed what I've been allowed. Who am I to say that they shouldn't be given that chance? My pets would die beloved... and they wouldn't know that they had a life to begin with. They can't truly fathom it. There'd be no guarantee of dying happily and understood by others when you're an unknown human. I guess... I guess I'd choose the unknown person.
Now I'm going to thank GOD I don't actually have this decision to make.
No it makes you a sociopath. That is literally, what they call it when you have no empathy or compassion for your fellow man. I understand the philosophical question you posit. But that accepts that there is a right reason to place no value on a human being's life.NathLines said:
See if a dog ever writes a play, discovers a scientific formula or founds a charity. I'm not saying every individual is a noble prize winner, but human beings have more capacity for good, progress or even productivity than anything that barely even knows it's alive. And while the inverse is true, it doesn't erase the fact of the matter. It's the potential of a human that puts them above another animal. Even a stupid human comprehends a lot more of the universe than a creature that stares dimly and eats it's own poop ever will. Does that make any sense?CarlMinez said:
Yes. You're acting in your own best interests. That is by definition selfish. On the subject of a pet's friendship, a dog doesn't really love you, it's genetically programmed to be loyal. The love and loyalty of humans is harder to attain, it has to be earned, and is there for rarer but more rewarding and more valuable. To convince yourself that a dog truly loves you is an arrogant conceit. It's fair to say you love the dog, but the dog would have loved anyone no matter how good or how rotten. If you simply love animals, then take a moment to contemplate that that person might have dependents of their own, whereas your pet is always a dependent. You are being selfish. The end.EllEzDee said:
Agreed.Kair said:
Quite alright, it's nice to see another fan, as well as somebody in this thread who isn't frelling farboht.yoyo13rom said:
I don't have a pet. That leaves just one other option...
Sorry dude. Nothing personal, of course.
Sorry dude. Nothing personal, of course.
I had a pet rock, but he was hit by a car one day when I was taking him for a walk. If he were still alive you'd be screwed, but he's not so... you're still screwed. The guilt would be outweighed by my hatred for people who consider humans superior to animals.
Well the fact that you are putting me to this decision isn't earning you any points sir. Now, are you fluffy? No? Yes?.....
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next questio-you know what, you're screwed you hairy bastard.
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next questio-you know what, you're screwed you hairy bastard.
I'd say: "If you were a biochemist and your particular pet's physiology somehow contained the cure for AIDS, then yes, you could save your pet before you saved me or another human being and I'd understand." Otherwise, choosing to let a human die so you can keep a furry add-on to your life is beyond selfish, it's immoral.sleeky01 said:
Again, lot of cat people on the Escapist. Interesting fact.
I won't insult you with pointless "What if" statements, but I will leave you with this: "Would you save Hitler/Stalin/personal hate figure in your life, or your pet?"
Why is it so goddamn immoral to want to save an animal over a human? I've met very few humans who warrant saving over an animal that I love. As I have pointed out earlier in this thread, every human has the capacity to be evil, while an animal doesn't.Lord_Beric said:
I won't insult you with pointless "What if" statements, but I will leave you with this: "Would you save Hitler/Stalin/personal hate figure in your life, or your pet?"