It is not enough to ask, 'Will my act harm other people?' Even if the answer is No, my act may still be wrong, because of its effe...cts on other people. I should ask, 'Will my act be one of a set of acts that will together harm other people?' The answer may be Yes. And the harm to others may be great. If this is so, I may be acting very wrongly, like the Harmless Torturers.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »
The Harmless Torturers. In the Bad Old Days, each torturer inflicted severe pain on one victim. Things have now changed. Each of t...he thousand torturers presses a button, thereby turning the switch once on each of the thousand instruments. The victims suffer the same severe pain. But none of the torturers makes any victim's pain perceptibly worse.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »