Who would you save? Strange question

[Zutankhamun]

I just saw this question and people’s mixed responses really surprised me.

You find yourself in a bizarre situation. You are faced with saving your own pet dog or a random human stranger
Who would you save?

Ps. Your answer means nothing if you don’t have a pet dog

 

[Deryan3]

That is a tough question, but my first thought after reading the situation is my pet dog, so be warned not to be in a bad situation near my pups

 

[sdennislee]

Tough question, similar to, would you run in to a burning building to save a baby? We all would like to think we would but none know until actually faced with the burning building.

We have 3 of our own dogs and my wife is a medical team member for an animal rescue, primarily dogs. At anytime we have as many as 10 dogs at our house each with their own issues that need addressed.

I tend to become very attached to almost any animal. When you combine my love of animals with the fact that I'm a bit of a misanthrope, I would have to say my pet. Kind of counter to the EMT medic side of me.

These are my thoughts sitting comfortably on my couch, with no information about the stranger, is it a young child, is the stranger suffering greatly, are they both looking to me to save them, too many unknowns.

 

[r77r7r]

I wonder if the results of this would be alot diff if it included the whole world. The internet is infatuated with pets. Is it mostly American? Because we seem overly invested. My answer would be a human but would not surprise me if it's not the popular answer. Does it seem like there are more pets than say, 20yrs ago? Before the internet. Sometimes it seems like people use them to break the ice with others or to communicate differently.

 

[ENAUD]

I would save my cat...

 

[Punk In Drublic]

I would save my cat...

My cat wouldn’t need saving. It would all be an act to con me into opening another can of food.

And if cats ever evolve with opposed thumbs, it would be us humanz that would need saving!

 

[r77r7r]

I would save my cat...

What if the human was a relative or child?

 

[r77r7r]

What if the human just made the same choice and saved you?

 

[ENAUD]

What if the human was a relative or child?

that incorporates different qualifiers into the original question, it would depend on which particular relative...the cat would most likely still be the likely candidate for aid.

 

[ENAUD]

What if the human just made the same choice and saved you?

then they would most likely already be safe, as they had just saved me already, but again, adds another conundrum to the the equation, which may or may not influence my decision...it might just boil down to how much tequila I had drunk, and where are my priorities at in that juncture.

 

[Jebbn]

Ive been saved by humans and they had put their own lives at some risk to find and then rescue us.
I love my dogs.
The cats are destroying my freshly sown lawn.
I would hate to be in the situation where someone was deciding between my life or their dogs. That they had to even think about it would be something I couldnt fathom.
For the sake of the light hearted thread though, my natural inclination right now and in the safety of my lounge room, I would save my dog before some random stranger that might rather save a pet dog than a human.

 

[tailland]

If you like that sort of challenge, check out Philosophy Experiments

 

[Zutankhamun]

Hahaha. No in fact it was the opposite. People seemed to be too overly concerned with the strange person for my liking.
I couldn’t believe that anyone would choose the person unless there was some variable. Child, helpless, etc...

For me there is no question. It’s my dog every single time. I understand that the human is one of my own and capable (generally) of more. Still though, one means the world to me but the other means nothing.
I thought it was cut and dried.
Cheers for helping with my happy-go-lucky-question

 

[Zutankhamun]

Ive been saved by humans and they had put their own lives at some risk to find and then rescue us.

I’m pretty sure you wasn’t in a situation where it was their own dog and you to choose from though...

I just had a quick look at dogs saving people. The loyalty is outstanding. You know why people have guard dogs in their work vans/trucks? At home to protect their family’s and in their shops/stores?
There isn’t a comprehension of threat which compares. They understand that you need them and nothing else.

Most of the time... My particular dog seems too involved with his little green ball. I think he’d save that little ball over me but oh well.
I know that my dog (old dog and best friend) jumped into a pond to save me but I’ve never met a human who even risked a slight inconvenience for me unless being paid who wasn’t family, friend or gf.

Dogs for the win

 

[Anise]

My dog if she was still alive or my cats. They aren't just pets but family members. I know they aren't human but they act more humane than many of the humans in the world today. If you save the human and they get hurt during the rescue more likely than not they'd sue you. I know my dog or cats would just be grateful.

 

[Zutankhamun]

or my cats

I treat everything as an individual. You’d have to be pretty special for me to pick you over my cat ie. the boss

That cat is the absolute business.
I’d save my mum, dad and brother before her and that’s it.
Don’t really care about other variables.

 

[stols001]

I'm an animal lover, and I used to want to be a vet. I own a dog.

I 100% cannot believe the answers that are emerging, it's not even a QUESTION. I mean, I have a child, I understand almost every human being is beloved to SOMEONE and I guess as a social worker, I've been exposed to a lot of human beings there is no way on EARTH I wouldn't go for the human and I'm pretty HORRIFIED.

You do all know your oh so beloved pets would EAT you, if YOU died because that's they order of thinking and empathy that they have. And yes, sorry, I know some dogs, or even cats, are capable of some higher order training and even a bit of higher order THINKING.

But, they're not human beings, they are not the same as human beings, they are PETS, they are extensions of YOUR ego, they aren't special, they aren't actually all that smart, they're basically your barking and talking ego extension that is comforting to YOU.

And, there's NOTHING WRONG with that, and if I had to pick saving my son's dog, who he is deeply attached to and I kind of love, I would with great RELUCTANCE still chose the HUMAN even though he would be DEVASTATED and I would feel awful.

But, that this is an ethical DILEMNA at all sort of boggles my mind. We, as a human species, need to MAN up and develop a less self-centered BACKBONE.

So yeah I'm shocked and (almost, I know American's many of them, spend more on their pets than their kids) amazed by this, and maybe the people spending more on their pets than their kids need to look at what our society has turned into.

I mean... No offense, but HOLY GOODNESS. Unbelievable.

And yes I like my own dog, he's great, but I'm adult enough to distinguish between right and wrong.

Anna

 

[tailland]

This is a common thought experiment exactly because the solution is not as straightforward as some ppl would like to believe.

I would most probably save my own dog before I save a stranger, for this reason:
I can imagine the consequences of both alternatives in my nearest future. There are 7 billion strangers out there who mean absolutely nothing to me. There is only 1 dog which is mine, and it does mean a lot to me. In any imaginable future, I would miss the dog more than the stranger. On top, the dog and I have a privileged, trust-based relationship, which includes an inherent promise that we will risk a lot, even our own safety, to ensure each other's well-being. Breaking that promise would make me feel very bad.

So, all in all, the dog lives, the stranger perishes. I can live with that better than with the alternative.

 

[r77r7r]

If you could talk to the human for 5 min and get to know them, I bet it'd be harder.

It'd be interesting to see a pic or description of the human that one would be ok with for making a decision like this.

 

[Zutankhamun]

I'm an animal lover, and I used to want to be a vet. I own a dog.

I 100% cannot believe the answers that are emerging, it's not even a QUESTION. I mean, I have a child, I understand almost every human being is beloved to SOMEONE and I guess as a social worker, I've been exposed to a lot of human beings there is no way on EARTH I wouldn't go for the human and I'm pretty HORRIFIED.

You do all know your oh so beloved pets would EAT you, if YOU died because that's they order of thinking and empathy that they have. And yes, sorry, I know some dogs, or even cats, are capable of some higher order training and even a bit of higher order THINKING.

But, they're not human beings, they are not the same as human beings, they are PETS, they are extensions of YOUR ego, they aren't special, they aren't actually all that smart, they're basically your barking and talking ego extension that is comforting to YOU.

And, there's NOTHING WRONG with that, and if I had to pick saving my son's dog, who he is deeply attached to and I kind of love, I would with great RELUCTANCE still chose the HUMAN even though he would be DEVASTATED and I would feel awful.

But, that this is an ethical DILEMNA at all sort of boggles my mind. We, as a human species, need to MAN up and develop a less self-centered BACKBONE.

So yeah I'm shocked and (almost, I know American's many of them, spend more on their pets than their kids) amazed by this, and maybe the people spending more on their pets than their kids need to look at what our society has turned into.

I mean... No offense, but HOLY GOODNESS. Unbelievable.

And yes I like my own dog, he's great, but I'm adult enough to distinguish between right and wrong.

Anna

Ah. Anna. You one of those...
We finally disagree on something

I’m really happy this thread has these responses. I myself was shocked at the terrible responses that I read.

I actually wouldn’t think twice about the actual decision. I’d feel really sad as I made my decision but that’s as far as it would go. I wouldn’t change my mind