In 1995, bOING bOING (the print version) ran a brain teaser called “Brain in a Vat,” which was written by Michael F. Patton, Jr. and reprinted in the May 1996 edition of Harpers. It was a funny send up of the kinds of moral quandaries that Daniel Sokol reports on for the BBC.
THE CAVE EXPLORERS
An enormous rock falls and blocks the exit of a cave you and five other tourists have been exploring. Fortunately, you spot a hole elsewhere and decide to let “Big Jack” out first. But Big Jack, a man of generous proportions, gets stuck in the hole. He cannot be moved and there is no other way out.
The high tide is rising and, unless you get out soon, everyone but Big Jack (whose head is sticking out of the cave) will inevitably drown. Searching through your backpack, you find a stick of dynamite. It will not move the rock, but will certainly blast Big Jack out of the hole. Big Jack, anticipating your thoughts, pleads for his life. He does not want to die, but neither do you and your four companions. Should you blast Big Jack out?
If the roles were reversed, what would you advise your trapped companions to do?
Reader comment: Jesse says:
I noticed that the joke thought-experiment from the 1995 issue of bOING bOING in the “moral quandaries” post ( http://www.boingboing.net/2006/05/03/moral_quandaries_fro.html ) seems to be a slightly shortened version of the text at http://www.mindspring.com/~mfpatton/Tissues.htm , which according to http://www.mindspring.com/~mfpatton/trolley.htm was actually written by Michael F. Patton, Jr. in 1987 and published in Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association in 1988. The site also has a helpful “Nonphilosopher’s Explanation Page” (at http://www.mindspring.com/~mfpatton/binvat.htm ) to help nonphilosophers pick up on all the references.
Update: Interesting commentary by Patton on the history of “Brain in a Vat,” and how it was published in many places without attribution (including bOING bOING) Link (Thanks, John Wiedey!)