Conscience

Prof asked yesterday if we have a remote control which button when pressed, would cause all the SUN profs to fall dead, if we would choose to press the button. There would be NO consequences ie. the authorities will not come after you. He'd give us a pill that would take away any feelings of guilt. Would you do it?

Interesting question. If we've a pill that will erase any emotions that we have when we press the button, so that there's nothing to hold us back from pressing the button, essentially that's no different from a robot killing someone.

What if there's no pill? Would you still kill all the SUN profs if there are no consequences? You may think that there's no benefit in killing SUN profs. If I say there's a distant relative who's filthy rich and he will leave you his inheritance, will you do it? Interesting. Some people actually say yes.

The point is most others feel that the act of killing people is morally wrong. There's something inside that tells us it's wrong, that holds us back from performing evil deeds, that prevents us from killing people. It's the sense of right and wrong, the sense of moral justice, our conscience.

I know that much as I hate or dislike certain people, people who've hurt me before, people who've made me suffered, I will not take revenge given the chance to do so. I cannot see myself pushing them off the edge of a cliff when they are struggling to maintain a foothold. Another instance would be escaping from a sinking ship. You want to abandon the ship but you feel an obligation, a calling to stay behind and help the ones onboard who are still trying to get out of the ship. In both scenarios, conscience is at work. Conscience is the force that prevents you from 落井下石 when you see your old enemies struggling. Conscience is the hand that stops you from leaving the sinking ship, leaving the rest of the passengers in lurch and pulls you back to help them leave the ship safely. Conscience is innate. Conscience sometimes will kill you. Conscience sometimes can save you too-save you from yourself.