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Obviously, this thread will be full of spoilers, so be warned.
Here's the ethical dillema and some ideas to consider. Short recap for anyone who is not ever going to watch the show or play the game.
Joel is a survivor of a massive fungal pandemic that has killed off most of humanity. His only daughter was killed at the beginning of the pandemic, which led him to attempt suicide, from which he recovered. He has survived through a variety of means, including by murdering other uninfected humans to obtain needed supplies. Approximately 20 years following the start of the pandemic, he gets a job taking a fourteen year old girl, Ellie, across the United States to a medical facility. Ellie is immune to the fungus and an anti-government organization, the Fireflies, that uses violence to achieve its ends, believes that there is the possibliity that a vaccine to the fungus could be produced based on her immunity.
Joel and Ellie become close on the journey, and he begins to view her as a surrogate daughter. Following delivery of the girl to the to the Fireflies facility, he learns that the process of creating the vaccine will kill Ellie, causing him to lose a second daughter. Ellie is not aware that she will die because of the procedure. Joel, unable to deal with the thought of losing Ellie like his daughter, kills multiple people to free Ellie, including the doctor that can create the vaccine.
Questions:
1. Is Joel justified in his actions to save Ellie?
2. Are the Fireflies justified in their planned sacrifice of Ellie without her consent in order to attempt to develop a vaccine to save the human race?
3. What if Ellie knew she was going to die and agreed to the procedure? How would that change your opinion?
4. What course of action seems correct if the likelihood of a successful vaccine being developed from the procedure is 30%? What about 70%? At what percentage likelihood of success do the ends justify the means?
Here's the ethical dillema and some ideas to consider. Short recap for anyone who is not ever going to watch the show or play the game.
Joel is a survivor of a massive fungal pandemic that has killed off most of humanity. His only daughter was killed at the beginning of the pandemic, which led him to attempt suicide, from which he recovered. He has survived through a variety of means, including by murdering other uninfected humans to obtain needed supplies. Approximately 20 years following the start of the pandemic, he gets a job taking a fourteen year old girl, Ellie, across the United States to a medical facility. Ellie is immune to the fungus and an anti-government organization, the Fireflies, that uses violence to achieve its ends, believes that there is the possibliity that a vaccine to the fungus could be produced based on her immunity.
Joel and Ellie become close on the journey, and he begins to view her as a surrogate daughter. Following delivery of the girl to the to the Fireflies facility, he learns that the process of creating the vaccine will kill Ellie, causing him to lose a second daughter. Ellie is not aware that she will die because of the procedure. Joel, unable to deal with the thought of losing Ellie like his daughter, kills multiple people to free Ellie, including the doctor that can create the vaccine.
Questions:
1. Is Joel justified in his actions to save Ellie?
2. Are the Fireflies justified in their planned sacrifice of Ellie without her consent in order to attempt to develop a vaccine to save the human race?
3. What if Ellie knew she was going to die and agreed to the procedure? How would that change your opinion?
4. What course of action seems correct if the likelihood of a successful vaccine being developed from the procedure is 30%? What about 70%? At what percentage likelihood of success do the ends justify the means?
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