Morality Play - What Are Your Principles?

[bluez_aspic]

This thread was split from http://recom.org/forum/showthread.php?t=6915 (I have the right to choose to die)

By the way, a fascinating "morality play" that exposes the inherent inconsistency in everyone's ethical framework:
http://www.philosophersnet.com/games/morality_play.htm

Strongly recommended. (thanks to shoblast for introducing this a long time ago)
What was your score? I don't like how some of the questions are framed, and the options given. And I would probably dispute the equivalence between some scenarios.

It's awesome to be doing something which is ethics-free btw.

[hunliang]

What was your score? btw I don't like how some of the questions are framed, and the options given. And I would probably dispute the equivalence between some scenarios.

mine was 65%.... so i guess that makes me a very average Joe Bloggs

[bluez_aspic]

Mine's the same as Shoblast i.e. 67% lol

[youngyew]

What was your score? I don't like how some of the questions are framed, and the options given. And I would probably dispute the equivalence between some scenarios.

It's awesome to be doing something which is ethics-free btw.

Played it a long time ago, haven't replayed it this time. Will do so probably 12 hours later (i.e. after I send this damnable research report to print :P).

Mind elaborating on how you dislike the questions and dispute the equivalence between scenarios?

[bluez_aspic]

Played it a long time ago, haven't replayed it this time. Will do so probably 12 hours later (i.e. after I send this damnable research report to print :P).

Mind elaborating on how you dislike the questions and dispute the equivalence between scenarios?
I have poor memory, though I'm not sure how the scenarios were equated, but you could probably dispute the way the computation is done if you wanted to :P

And wow, you're beating the deadline by a day!

[youngyew]

<digression> No it's not beating the deadline at all. I have to get it printed tomorrow because the deadline is Friday 1pm. And I am in the hospital now. "Doing work". </digression>

[bluez_aspic]

lol you're anal

[dcwk04]

Your Moral Parsimony Score is 41%

LOL. What a wonder.

[bluez_aspic]

Here's hoping you're not aspiring to become a doctor.

[dcwk04]

LOL. Actually a dentist. Wonder what will happen to all my dental patients.

Dentist from Elm Street.

*cue horror music*

[youngyew]

The parsimony score is not supposed to be a score for your righteousness, is it? :D

[bluez_aspic]

Haha the dental faculty at my school actually has this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On3mrKW-Nk0) as compulsory watching for all n00bies.

[Glassylicious]

71% for me. o_o Got a moderately high score for geographical isolation, low score for family relatedness, rather high score for acts and omissions, and full marks for scale.

[Shoblast]

re: framed question

come on now, you are just upset that they made you answer some peter singer questions :p

the whole point of ethical or morality plays is that it puts you in a morally grey zone to see what you'd do, in order to assess what your core worldviews are. And theres no complaining of "obscure scenarios that seldom happen in real life" either, all of those scenarios (aside from the really obvious ones like the poisonous wine, its just to wind you up).

The question of whether or not its moral to buy yourself a nice cocktail when you can use the money to help others is right up there with one of the predicaments of our modern lifestyle.

edit: well actually i kind of cheated. When i did the test, i turned off all intellectual considerations and replied only in the most instinctual and selfish way that i can.

[runninghorse]

Analysis

Your Moral Parsimony Score is 59%

Geographical Distance
Your score of 67% is somewhat lower than the average score of 72% in this category.

Family Relatedness
Your score of 18% is a lot lower than the average score of 52% in this category.

Acts and Omissions
Your score of 51% is a little lower than the average score of 61% in this category.

Scale
Your score of 100% is significantly higher than the average score of 73% in this category.

[castle]

i got 28%....lol
my scores were significantly lower or a lot lower in all of the categories.hehe

[bluez_aspic]

re: framed question

come on now, you are just upset that they made you answer some peter singer questions :p

the whole point of ethical or morality plays is that it puts you in a morally grey zone to see what you'd do, in order to assess what your core worldviews are. And theres no complaining of "obscure scenarios that seldom happen in real life" either, all of those scenarios (aside from the really obvious ones like the poisonous wine, its just to wind you up).

The question of whether or not its moral to buy yourself a nice cocktail when you can use the money to help others is right up there with one of the predicaments of our modern lifestyle.

edit: well actually i kind of cheated. When i did the test, i turned off all intellectual considerations and replied only in the most instinctual and selfish way that i can.
Tsk tsk at the presumptions you're making (but that's your job isn't it?). It's just that I would've liked greater clarification on some scenarios, and the questions were about "moral obligation" instead of what you'd do which is a non-trivial distinction.

re: cocktail - isn't that the same thing as whether we should feel any moral compunction to donate to a beggar on the streets? I believe in helping, but I wouldn't claim that there's an obligation to do so. (those who claim otherwise should visit Thailand or Indonesia)

And stop thumbing Peter Singer at me you idiot :P

[Zeroth]

I got 59.

Realised that the questions have a lot of utilitarian principle embedded in it, and they also modified these principles a little as well.

Is canceling 1 operation to save 10 lives the same as killing 1 patient to save 10? I find myself answering these two questions differently even though they are principally the same. One is direct murder of the patient, the other is indirect killing by non-treatment.

The parsimony score is not supposed to be a score for your righteousness, is it? :D

From what i read at the end, it seems like the higher your score, the more rigid your moral framework towards a principle is. Like if you get 100%, then you are strictly only adhering to one particular principle (such as utilitarian, etc.)

[youngyew]

I answered the killing 1 to save 10 and cancelling one operation to save 10 patients differently.

First come first serve lah, you can't just cancel an ongoing / booked operation and go off the street and save 10 patients. Unfair to the patient who has already waited for it for months or years.

[bluez_aspic]

I answered the killing 1 to save 10 and cancelling one operation to save 10 patients differently.

First come first serve lah, you can't just cancel an ongoing / booked operation and go off the street and save 10 patients. Unfair to the patient who has already waited for it for months or years.
So the two scenarios are not equivalent even if the outcomes are similar.

[Zeroth]

So the two scenarios are not equivalent even if the outcomes are similar.

That in itself is an ethical principle. If you are a utilitarian, then only the outcome matters.