Philippa Foot is most known for her invention of the Trolley Problem thought experiment in the 1960s. A lesser known variation of hers is as follows:

Suppose that a judge is faced with rioters demanding that a culprit be found for a certain crime. The rioters are threatening to take bloody revenge on a particular section of the community. The real culprit being unknown, the judge sees himself as able to prevent the bloodshed from the riots only by framing some innocent person and having them executed.

These are the only two options: execute an innocent person for a crime they did not commit, or let people riot in the streets knowing that people will die. If you were the judge, what would you do?

  • @Unsustainable
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    610 months ago

    It was actually a baby. Hawkeye just remembered it as a chicken.

    • @Daft_ish@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Oh gee, thanks for ruining mash for me. Now I realize it was a dark tragic drama about using humor to cope with the horrors of war and not just some laugh along sitcom. Real great. Can’t believe it.

      • @jet@hackertalks.com
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        310 months ago

        Some people today say mash was pro war white washing it… Having actually watched mash I couldn’t disagree more. Mash was deeply antiwar, and pro human … but you actually have to watch it to know it

      • @Unsustainable
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        210 months ago

        Well, I won’t tell you that it got cancelled. Oh, crap!