You can only save one— who do you choose? - Doug MacKay

Translator: Reviewer: Thomas Tam

You are the captain of the Mallory 7, an interstellar cargo transport.

你係星際貨船 Mallory 7 嘅船長

On your way to the New Lindley spaceport, you receive a distress call.

喺去 New Lindley 嘅途中 收到求救嘅信號

There’s been an explosion on the Telic 12

Telic 12 發生爆炸

and its passengers are running out of oxygen.

乘客嘅氧氣好快無曬

As you set a course to intercept, you check the Telic 12′s manifest.

當設置攔截路線嗰陣 你檢查咗 Telic 12 嘅艙單

It’s currently transporting 30 middle-aged individuals

目前正將三十名來自地球貧民區嘅中年人

from some of Earth’s poorest districts to the labor center on New Lindley,

送往 New Lindley 勞動力中心

where they'll be assigned jobs on the spaceport.

佢哋將會喺航天站獲得分配工作

But as you approach the Telic 12, you receive a second distress call.

但你駛向 Telic 12 時 又收到第二個求救信號

A luxury space cruiser called the Pareto has lost a thruster,

豪華太空船 Pareto 失去咗一個推進器

sending them careening towards an asteroid belt.

正受影響，傾斜向一群小行星帶進發

Without your help, the 20 college students headed for vacation

沒有你嘅幫忙

二十個旅遊途中嘅大學生係命中注定喇

aboard the Pareto are all doomed.

So with only enough time to save one ship, which one should you choose?

而你只係有時間拯救一艘船 咁你會選擇邊艘船呢？

This dilemma is an example of a broader class of problems

呢種兩難嘅局面屬於更廣範疇問題嘅例子

where a life-saving resource— such as a donated organ or vaccine—

就係當救人嘅資源

is scarce.

就比如器官或疫苗面臨短缺嘅情況下

There are many schools of thought on how to approach these problems,

有好多學校研究點樣解決呢啲問題

and one of the most influential is utilitarianism,

其中最具影響力嘅解決方法係功利主義

an ethical view first systematically developed

由 Jeremy Bentham 同 John Stuart Mill

by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.

首先發展嘅倫理觀念

In this view, you should choose the action

認為你應該做啲

which promises the greatest sum of happiness.

畀你得到最多幸福感嘅選擇

Though, how to define and measure happiness is a difficult question.

但係點樣定義同量度幸福感係個難題

For example, hedonists would suggest a happy life

比如享樂主義者會講快樂嘅人生

contains the most pleasure and the least pain.

係有最多嘅歡樂同埋最少嘅痛苦

Others might say it’s the life where your desires are most fulfilled.

其餘啲人會講，快樂嘅人生 係能夠滿足最多嘅慾望

However happiness is defined,

唔論你點樣定義幸福感

most would agree that saving 30 lives has the potential

好多人會贊同拯救三十條人命

to generate more happiness than saving 20.

比救二十條人命，潛在 產生更多嘅幸福感

But is it enough to consider how many lives would be saved?

咁樣做決定係唔係就係足夠咩？

Or should you also consider how many life years would be?

或者，係唔係需要諗啲人 仲有幾多年可以繼續生存呢？

Assuming a life expectancy of 80, saving the lives of the students,

假設預咗人有八十歲命 拯救平均二十歲嘅學生

with an average age of 20, saves 1,200 life years,

就等於拯救咗一千二百年嘅壽命

while saving the workers, with an average age of 45, saves 1,050.

如果拯救平均四十五歲嘅工人呢﹗ 就等於救咗一千零五十年嘅壽命

All things being equal, a longer life should promise

假設其他條件唔變 救咗多啲人嘅生存年數

a greater sum of happiness than a shorter one.

可以帶來更多嘅幸福感

So perhaps saving the smaller ship actually has the potential

所以拯救嗰艘細嘅太空船

to generate the most happiness.

畀你帶來更多嘅幸福感

If all these calculations feel a bit cold,

如果你覺得咁樣計算太過冷血，

you may want to consider a different approach.

可以試下另一個方法。

The philosopher Derek Parfit argues we should give priority to the worse off,

哲學家 Derek Parfit 指出 我哋應該將優先權畀啲情況較差嘅人，

since benefits to those groups matter more

由於幫助呢啲人

than equivalent benefits to the well-off.

比起幫助富有嘅人更加重要

In this view, it’s more urgent to help those whose basic needs aren’t met

從呢個角度睇，最急切嘅係 幫助嗰啲唔能夠滿足基本生活需要嘅人

even if they’re harder to help than those who are flourishing.

儘管比起生活富足嘅人更難嚟到幫助

But often, determining which group is truly worse off can get complicated fast.

但係要判斷邊個情況較差係更加複雜。

In our case, Earth is still beset by drastic inequalities

呢種情況下，地球仍然受貧富懸殊

in wealth and opportunity.

同埋資源分配不公平嘅困擾

And those able to afford a vacation on New Lindley

嗰啲能夠負擔到 New Lindley 旅行

and transport on a luxury cruiser

坐豪華太空船嘅人

are no doubt among the most well-off people on the planet.

毫無疑問係地球上最富裕嘅一批人

The workers, by contrast, are among the most disadvantaged,

對比起嚟，工人係社會嘅低層

traveling away from home for months at a time to perform service work.

為咗生計離家幾個月

With fewer resources and opportunities,

喺缺乏資源同埋機會底下

it’s likely they’ve experienced more hardship in their lives

佢哋比起啲富有嘅遊客

than the vacationers,

已經面對咗更多艱辛嘅處境

so maybe they’re more deserving of rescue?

係唔係佢哋更值得我哋拯救呢？

On the other hand, the students have experienced less life overall—

睇嚟學生未能夠得到更多嘅人生經驗

so perhaps they’re worse off?

佢哋嘅情況又係唔係更差呢？

Or maybe none of these variables should influence our decision.

或者我哋嘅決定 唔應該受任何變數嘅影響好啲

The philosopher John Taurek famously argued that in these types of cases,

哲學家 John Taurek 出名嘅觀點指出，喺呢種情況下

the numbers don’t count.

數字並唔係咁緊要

Each person is deserving of equal concern and respect,

每一個人都值得我哋關心同埋尊重

so the best way to decide which passengers to save is to flip a coin.

所以掟銀仔做決定 拯救邊一啲乘客係最佳嘅方法

While this might seem arbitrary at first, this approach treats all parties equally,

雖然睇嚟呢啲方法好隨便 但係對持份者係公平嘅

giving each individual an equal chance of being rescued.

每一個人都得到同樣嘅拯救機會

Could any passenger argue that they're being treated unfairly by a coin flip?

有邊個乘客可以指出 掟銀仔嘅做法係唔公平咩？

It’s tough to say.

咁就好難講啦﹗

But how they— and you— feel about the result may be another dilemma altogether.

但係佢哋或者你哋對結果嘅感受 講真就係另一個兩難嘅題目啦！