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newnumber6Dreamed that I was on another planet in a space dock, and I was talking to an alien about ethics and morals.
At first I was annoyed because he didn't seem to see anything wrong with killing someone if they had something you needed. But after further questioning I discovered that it was simply a strict policy of 'if it's my life or that of someone else, I'll always make sure it's me that stays alive', but if it was something that would seriously inconvenience him and he had other options for survival, he wouldn't kill over it. Although I didn't entirely agree, I could at least get along with him for that policy.
The hypothetical example I remember putting to him that clinched it was that if he was on a space ship, and he was missing a vital part that would have killed him if he didn't get it soon, and he found a station on an inhospitable planet, where they had that part, but it was a key component of the life support system there. If ther ewas no other way, he'd take the component and kill anyone there but, if, say, they allowed him to stay at the station, alive but pretty much stranded for years possibly until another ship came by, he'd be okay with that alternative, even though it'd suck.
At first I was annoyed because he didn't seem to see anything wrong with killing someone if they had something you needed. But after further questioning I discovered that it was simply a strict policy of 'if it's my life or that of someone else, I'll always make sure it's me that stays alive', but if it was something that would seriously inconvenience him and he had other options for survival, he wouldn't kill over it. Although I didn't entirely agree, I could at least get along with him for that policy.
The hypothetical example I remember putting to him that clinched it was that if he was on a space ship, and he was missing a vital part that would have killed him if he didn't get it soon, and he found a station on an inhospitable planet, where they had that part, but it was a key component of the life support system there. If ther ewas no other way, he'd take the component and kill anyone there but, if, say, they allowed him to stay at the station, alive but pretty much stranded for years possibly until another ship came by, he'd be okay with that alternative, even though it'd suck.
