From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Wed Jul 30 2003 - 23:09:42 MDT
When I was 19, my friend and I discussed the usual sophomore
questions, "when would you throw a rope to a drowning man?",
and "if you would, to how much inconvenience or risk would
you put yourself?".
I found my friend's answer very interesting: he almost always
said "It's not my responsibility". I gathered that he'd
throw the rope only if he happened to feel like it, or if he
had done something to cause the desperate person to be in such
a predicament. I, on the other hand, was at that age willing
to assume almost unlimited responsibility. For me, in all
cases, it clearly was a clear choice of A or B, and I
evalutated my preferences as best I could according to abstract
principles (perhaps admitting, as I have more formally done in
recent decades, that a separate and important part of my values
concern what ends up being good for me).
Today I have drifted far from that original position. It's rather
easy to consider imaginary cases in which the answer "That wouldn't
be my responsibility" comes easily. There are many more cases
than previously whereupon I would undertake some action except
that it would be a burden to feel responsible for the consequences.
I wonder how general this development is. Has anyone else here
experienced similar or contrary personal developments?
Lee
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