你只能救一個——你會選擇誰？ - 道格·麥凱 (Doug MacKay)：英語精讀講義

You are the captain of the Mallory 7,

你是「馬洛里 7 號」的船長，

an interstellar cargo transport. 用詞

這是一艘星際貨運飛船。

On your way to the New Lindley Spaceport, 片語搭配

在前往「新林德利」太空站的途中，

you receive a distress call. 片語搭配

你收到了一個求救訊號。

There's been an explosion on the Telic 12, 文法

「特利克 12 號」上發生了爆炸，

and its passengers are running out of oxygen. 片語動詞

乘客們的氧氣快要耗盡了。

As you set a course to intercept, you check the Telic 12's manifest. 表達脈絡

在你設定航向準備攔截時，你查看了「特利克 12 號」的乘客名單。

It's currently transporting 30 middle-aged individuals

飛船上目前載有 30 名中年人，

from some of Earth's poorest districts to the labor center

他們來自地球上最貧困的一些地區，正前往勞務中心，

on New Lindley,

目的地是「新林德利」，

where they'll be assigned jobs on the spaceport. 文法

他們將在那裡的太空站被分配工作。

But as you approach the Telic 12,

但當你靠近「特利克 12 號」時，

you receive a second distress call.

你又收到了第二個求救訊號。

A luxury space cruiser called the Pareto

一艘名為「帕雷托」的豪華太空郵輪

has lost a thruster, 文法

失去了一個推進器，

sending them careening towards an asteroid belt. 用詞

導致郵輪失控衝向小行星帶。

Without your help, 文法

如果沒有你的幫助，

the 20 college students headed for vacation 片語搭配

「帕雷托」上 20 名去度假的大學生

aboard the Pareto are all doomed.

都將面臨滅頂之災。

So, with only enough time to save one ship, 表達脈絡

那麼，在時間只夠拯救一艘飛船的情況下，

which one should you choose?

你應該選擇哪一艘呢？

This dilemma is an example of a broader class of problems 表達脈絡

這種困境是一大類更廣泛問題的縮影，

where a life-saving resource, 文法

在這類問題中，能夠拯救生命的資源，

such as a donated organ or vaccine,

比如捐贈的器官或疫苗，

is scarce.

都是稀缺的。

There are many schools of thought on how to approach these problems, 片語搭配

關於如何處理這些問題，有許多思想流派，

and one of the most influential is utilitarianism,

其中最有影響力的是功利主義，

an ethical view first systematically developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. 文化背景

這種倫理觀最早由傑里米·邊沁和約翰·斯圖亞特·彌爾系統性提出。

In this view, 表達脈絡

在這種觀點看來，

you should choose the action which promises the greatest sum of happiness, 文法

你應該選擇能帶來最大幸福總和的行動，

though how to define and measure happiness is a difficult question. 表達脈絡

儘管如何定義和衡量幸福是一個難題。

For example,

比如，

hedonists would suggest a happy life contains the most pleasure and the least pain. 文化背景

享樂主義者會認為幸福的生活包含最多的快樂和最少的痛苦。

Others might say it's the life where your desires are most fulfilled. 文法

其他人可能會說，慾望得到最大滿足的生活才是幸福的。

However happiness is defined, 表達脈絡

無論如何定義幸福，

most would agree that saving 30 lives

大多數人都會同意，拯救 30 條生命

has the potential to generate more happiness than saving 20. 片語搭配

比拯救 20 條生命有可能產生更多的幸福。

But is it enough to consider how many lives would be saved, 表達脈絡

但是，僅僅考慮拯救了多少條生命就夠了嗎？

or should you also consider how many life years would be?

還是你也應該考慮拯救了多少「生命年」？

Assuming a life expectancy of 80, 文法

假設預期壽命為 80 歲，

saving the lives of the students with an average age of 20

拯救平均年齡 20 歲的學生的生命，

saves 1,200 life years, 表達脈絡

可以挽救 1200 個生命年；

while saving the workers with an average age of 45

而拯救平均年齡 45 歲的工人的生命，

saves 1,050.

可以挽救 1050 個生命年。

All things being equal, 表達脈絡

在其他條件同等的情況下，

a longer life should promise a greater sum of happiness 片語搭配

較長的壽命應該比較短的壽命

than a shorter one.

能帶來更多的幸福總和。

So perhaps saving the smaller ship 表達脈絡

所以也許拯救較小的那艘飛船，

actually has the potential to generate the most happiness.

實際上有可能產生最大的幸福感。

If all these calculations feel a bit cold, 語氣意圖

如果所有這些計算讓人感覺有些冷酷，

you may want to consider a different approach.

你可能想考慮一種不同的方法。

The philosopher Derek Parfit argues we should give priority to the worse off, 片語搭配

哲學家德瑞克·帕菲特主張，我們應該優先考慮處境較差的人，

since benefits to those groups matter more than equivalent benefits to the well-off. 文法

因為對這些群體的幫助，比對富裕群體的同等幫助更有意義。

In this view,

在這種觀點看來，

it's more urgent to help those whose basic needs aren't met, 文法

幫助那些基本需求得不到滿足的人更為迫切，

even if they're harder to help than those who are flourishing. 表達脈絡

即使他們比那些生活富足的人更難幫助。

But often determining which group is truly worse off can get complicated fast. 表達脈絡

但通常，要確定哪個群體真正處境更差，很快就會變得複雜。

In our case,

在我們這個案例中，

Earth is still beset by drastic inequalities in wealth and opportunity. 用詞

地球仍然受到財富和機會急劇不平等的困擾。

And those able to afford a vacation on New Lindley 文法

那些負擔得起去「新林德利」度假

and transport on a luxury cruiser

還能乘坐豪華郵輪的人，

are no doubt among the most well-off people on the planet. 片語搭配

毫無疑問是地球上最富裕的人。

The workers, by contrast, 表達脈絡

相比之下，那些工人

are among the most disadvantaged,

則屬於最弱勢的群體，

traveling away from home for months at a time to perform service work. 文法

他們為了從事服務工作，一次離家就是幾個月。

With fewer resources and opportunities, 文法

由於資源和機會較少，

it's likely they've experienced more hardship in their lives than the vacationers.

他們生活中經歷的艱難困苦很可能比那些度假者更多。

So maybe they're more deserving of rescue. 用詞

所以也許他們更值得被拯救。

On the other hand, 表達脈絡

另一方面，

the students have experienced less life overall, 表達脈絡

學生們體驗的人生整體上還很少，

so perhaps they're worse off.

所以也許他們的處境更差。

Or maybe none of these variables should influence our decision. 表達脈絡

或者，也許這些變數都不應該影響我們的決定。

The philosopher John Taurek famously argued that in these types of cases, 片語搭配

哲學家約翰·陶雷克曾提出過一個著名的觀點：在這些類型的案例中，

the numbers don't count. 慣用語

人數並不重要。

Each person is deserving of equal concern and respect, 片語搭配

每個人都值得平等的關懷與尊重，

so the best way to decide which passengers to save is to flip a coin. 文法

所以決定拯救哪些乘客的最好方法就是擲硬幣。

While this might seem arbitrary at first, 表達脈絡

雖說這乍聽之下似乎很隨意，

this approach treats all parties equally, 表達脈絡

但這種方法平等地對待了所有各方，

giving each individual an equal chance of being rescued.

給了每個人同等獲救的機會。

Could any passenger argue that they're being treated unfairly by a coin flip? 語氣意圖

會有乘客因為被擲硬幣決定生死而抱怨受到了不公平的對待嗎？

It's tough to say, 語氣意圖

這很難說，

but how they and you feel about the result may be another dilemma altogether. 表達脈絡

但他們以及你對這個結果的感受，可能完全是另一個困境了。

Start practicing for tough decisions

開始練習做出艱難的決定吧，

using these five tips to improve your critical thinking.

運用這五個技巧來提高你的批判性思維。

Or if you've ever wanted to understand why people make irrational decisions,

或者，如果你曾想弄明白為什麼人們會做出不理智的決定，

this video might be for you.

這個影片可能很適合你。