John Scott
02-25-2009, 01:45 PM
Bart was born to a single mother in a log cabin in the woods. He lived in the woods with his mother his entire life, having not a single encounter with another person.
When Bart was 60 his mother died.
When Bart was 100 years old an environmental activist who had seen Bart chop down trees for firewood became enraged. The environmental activist snuck into the log cabin and injected Bart with a painless poison which killed Bart instantly. Bart died at exactly 3:00 am.
You just happened across the scene the next morning, and because this is a thought experiment, we'll bring in some aliens to tell you that Bart was going to die ten minutes after 3:00 anyway. Not only does he tell you that, but he also tells you that those ten minutes were going to be extremely, extremely painful - heart attack, maybe.
Of course, the environmental activist didn't know that when he killed Bart.
Does the environmental activist deserve to be punished?
When Bart was 60 his mother died.
When Bart was 100 years old an environmental activist who had seen Bart chop down trees for firewood became enraged. The environmental activist snuck into the log cabin and injected Bart with a painless poison which killed Bart instantly. Bart died at exactly 3:00 am.
You just happened across the scene the next morning, and because this is a thought experiment, we'll bring in some aliens to tell you that Bart was going to die ten minutes after 3:00 anyway. Not only does he tell you that, but he also tells you that those ten minutes were going to be extremely, extremely painful - heart attack, maybe.
Of course, the environmental activist didn't know that when he killed Bart.
Does the environmental activist deserve to be punished?