josh susser on Nostr: I want a competing philosophy meme because I'm tired of the Trolley Problem. The ...

I want a competing philosophy meme because I'm tired of the Trolley Problem. The ethical conundrums of our age seem to be less about when we get to exercise power over others, and more about how to compete with others to avoid harm in a rigged system.

I'm thinking about the Outrun The Bear Problem. (probably needs a more catchy name. Pursuit Bear Problem?) It's based on that old joke that if a bear is chasing you and a companion, you don't need to be faster than the bear, but just have to be faster than your companion. The conundrum is this: Is it ethical to outrun your companion so the bear catches them instead of you? And what about variations? Is it ethical to do something to slow your companion down? What if you could cooperate to have a 50% chance of both of you escaping but there's a 50% chance the bear gets both of you? I think this could be just as rich a thought experiment as the Trolley Problem, and perhaps more applicable to our current social issues.
#philosophy #TrolleyProblem