Today is positive and negative duties. have you ever thought about the word duty. for some reason i think it is an extremely funny word. yes, im five.
so what are positive and negative duties you ask?
a positive duty is when you act to preserve life. a negative duty is when you refuse to act to preserve life.
examples to think about (i might be stealing some of these from my SFL 480 class):
1. you are a doctor in the outback (Australian style). 5 hikers come in to your clinic. All five are suffering from hikinonia (a made up disease caught while hiking). You only have four CCs of sleepicillin (a drug that will cure them). One hiker is suffering a severe case, the guess is he is the one who caught it first and infected the others. He requires four CCs to survive. However, the other four only need one. do you save the one or the four?
2. you are a sheriff (much like in the game bang- which I played on Saturday...and sunday and loved it). you are holding a prisoner who is awaiting his pending trial, where he will most likely be sentenced to death. A mob comes to the jail and tells you that they hate him and want to kill him. All you have to do is take a longer lunch break. If you don't they will kill four civilians. What do you do?
3. You are a doctor and you have four patience all needing different organs (liver, heart, kidney, and lung). A man comes in who is a perfect match for all four organs. He tells you he would like to donate them. He is in good health, and is not likely to die any time soon. Do you take his organs, killing him and saving the four?
why is the answer different from one and three? well folks its because of duty. in scenario one you are deciding between positive and positive duty. In that case utilitarianism comes into play (doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people). But in scenario three you are choosing between positive and negative duty. Side note: negative duty almost always trumps positive duty.
personal application.
yesterday I was driving to my integrity and personal character class. I was coming up to a stop light on campus that is used to allow people to cross the street. The light was green, but I had been slowing down trying to figure out where I was going. As I slowed, people started inching their way into the road- and then crossing. Perplex faces looked both ways as the light was still green. I had been shag-hied. I had a funny non-verbal with a guy on the side of the road. he looked at me- and then at the people in front of my car with a quizzical look. I shrugged my shoulders and told him to cross. The light turned yellow, and then red, as I waited for the pedestrians to cross.
now how does this situation have to do with positive duty. well I was honoring my positive duty when I stopped my car so I wouldn't hit a pedestrian. I then was honoring my negative duty as I refused to go even though the light was green because there were people in front of me.
make any sense?
random tidbits of the day.
i went running again today. im starting to love it again. today it was a run to Matt and Keri's from my apartment. I decided to run sans music and loved just being out there me and the road. I found back roads, and kept myself entertained by trying to figure out the best route. The sun was shining- there was a slight breeze. it was perfect. what was not perfect was the fact that my sweat was burning my face because of my extremely dry skin. luckily, keri is a doll and gave me some extra strength lotion. fingers crossed it will help. she was also a doll and drove me to class after my 6.5 mile run. she is the bestest.
after class a friend who is an RA at Heleman Halls took me to the Cannon Center. Best thing ever. I relived my freshman days as I grabbed my tray and looked out the options. However, nothing looked appetizing. It might have been the fact I had just run and grease sounded disgusting- but the endless buffet was wasted on me. better luck next time.
knowing people pays off. yesterday I got a text from a friend saying they had two free tickets to see xanadu at the hale center theater. I couldn't say no. So Cecily and I jumped in the car and went and chuckled our way through the show. It wasn't what I was expecting- very glittery and flamboyant- but it was full of life and energy. Brittany (a girl in my ward, and marrying Jason) was amazing. I was proud to know her. The show was only and hour and a half with no intermission which was perfect because it meant we could get back for the pie party. It was so fun to go to a show again. It reminded me of being in London going to a show every other night.
random tidbits of life.
On saturday we had a clothes swap. aka bring clothes you dont want any more and other people can take them. it was grand. I followed that with a test- and then an afternoon playing with ethan. The little guy is adorable- and super shy around strangers. My roommates bribed him with gummy bears and army men and he opened up in no time. we topped it off playing at the park with cooper and joy. i could have played at that park forever. the night ended with a very funny, very awkward, blind date. oh the joys of dating.
*pictures to come*
on monday we had FHE down in payson. we went and visited an old couple who had just gotten home from their mission. It was both of their second marriages (due to death and divorce) and they were absolutely adorable. They had only been married six years but if you did know you would have guessed 30. They were so in love, and acted just like teenagers. I loved listening to their stories and could have stayed all night.
sorry for the novel. but you made it through.
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