Bob and the Bugatti - Peter Singer

[Barry]

He should let the train run its course.

Sell the Bugatti and give the money to the RNLI who will save more than 1 life as a result.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-47908761">//https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-47908761

[papasmurf]

Do we agree with Bobs choice, would you do the same in Bobs position, if we do not agree with Bob or would do otherwise, Why?

If I owned a Bugatti, I would not park it in such a dangerous place.

[T00ts]

Deleted

[Nalaar]

This is an old read, but an interesting, and seemingly timeless one.

A recent article about Singer in The New York Times revealed that the philosopher gives one-fifth of his income to famine-relief agencies. ''From when I first saw pictures in newspapers of people starving, from when people asked you to donate some of your pocket money for collections at school,'' he mused, ''I always thought, 'Why that much -- why not more?'''



Is it possible to quantify our charitable burden? In the following essay, Singer offers some unconventional thoughts about the ordinary American's obligations to the world's poor and suggests that even his own one-fifth standard may not be enough.

The full article can be read here - https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/05/magazine/the-singer-solution-to-world-poverty.html">//https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/05/magazine/the-singer-solution-to-world-poverty.html While I would encourage people to read the whole article, to make things more manageable I'm only going to expressly quote and ask opinions on a scenario posited within



The central thought experiment presented in thus

Bob is close to retirement. He has invested most of his savings in a very rare and valuable old car, a Bugatti, which he has not been able to insure. The Bugatti is his pride and joy. In addition to the pleasure he gets from driving and caring for his car, Bob knows that its rising market value means that he will always be able to sell it and live comfortably after retirement. One day when Bob is out for a drive, he parks the Bugatti near the end of a railway siding and goes for a walk up the track. As he does so, he sees that a runaway train, with no one aboard, is running down the railway track. Looking farther down the track, he sees the small figure of a child very likely to be killed by the runaway train. He can't stop the train and the child is too far away to warn of the danger, but he can throw a switch that will divert the train down the siding where his Bugatti is parked. Then nobody will be killed -- but the train will destroy his Bugatti. Thinking of his joy in owning the car and the financial security it represents, Bob decides not to throw the switch. The child is killed. For many years to come, Bob enjoys owning his Bugatti and the financial security it represents.

Do we agree with Bobs choice, would you do the same in Bobs position, if we do not agree with Bob or would do otherwise, Why?