Yeah I think in the case of both choosing not to act to save the kid and acting to kill the kid (in this narrow hypothetical) you’re violating the kid’s rights just as much (privileging your financial interests over his life).
And regarding your point regarding conscience… You’re appealing to our moral intuitions which we can question the validity of, particularly with such thought experiments as these.
I suppose I would agree that acting as a moral person requires a significant consideration of other conscious beings with regard to our choices. And I think the vast majority of people fail to take adequate consideration thereof. I suppose that’s how I consider my own “conscience”: am I making choices with sufficient regard for the interests of other beings across space and time? I think attempting to act accordingly is part of my “inner goodness”.
Yeah I think in the case of both choosing not to act to save the kid and acting to kill the kid (in this narrow hypothetical) you’re violating the kid’s rights just as much (privileging your financial interests over his life).
And regarding your point regarding conscience… You’re appealing to our moral intuitions which we can question the validity of, particularly with such thought experiments as these.
I suppose I would agree that acting as a moral person requires a significant consideration of other conscious beings with regard to our choices. And I think the vast majority of people fail to take adequate consideration thereof. I suppose that’s how I consider my own “conscience”: am I making choices with sufficient regard for the interests of other beings across space and time? I think attempting to act accordingly is part of my “inner goodness”.