How do you deal with evil without being evil yourself?

[blitzmacher]

I'll agree with both.

[Chioran]

Let us not forget revenge. Revenge is a strong motivator for war.

[blitzmacher]

And religion

[Chioran]

Orginally posted by blitzmacher

And religion

Ah yes. Excellent!

[Lawgiver]

Orginally posted by Arlen Blaede
Lastly, in the case of the forgotten parking brake, the forgettful individual did not commit an evil act. However, this does not relieve that person of the responsibility of the act. That person then, is responsible for providing recompense to those who will suffer as a result of this loss.

What is the value of a human life? How much should the absent minded person have to pay as compensation for their mistake? Is money the best compensation? What about the adage of an 'eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'? Should teh person be killed to compensate for the loss they inflicted?

We can run around on this issue for days on end.... Way to go Eldred! :P

[Arlen Blaede]

No, the forgetful person should not be killed. Whether or not he should spend time in jail is a little fuzzy for me to. He should be responsible for making up the money that the victims family has now lost due to the loss of a wage earner.

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is certainly one way to go, but it doesn't solve any problem here. The guilty party would then possibly leave behind another family who no longer has a means of supporting itself. Not only is this unjust, but it also means that the state has a second family it must now provide for as well.

[Lawgiver]

Orginally posted by Arlen Blaede
No, the forgetful person should not be killed. Whether or not he should spend time in jail is a little fuzzy for me to. He should be responsible for making up the money that the victims family has now lost due to the loss of a wage earner.

-So what if the victim is not a wage earner, but rather is a child?
-Do you calculate some sum of money that the child may have earned in his or her lifetime?
-What about the child's future children?
-What about the value of the ideas and contributions of the child to society?
-If the child were to have grown up to be a scientist who discovered the cure to cancer does that increase the value of the human life?
-What if the victim were a homeless man with no family? Would his life be worth less than a doctor with 5 kids and a quarter of a million dollar annual income?
-If the victim has a terminal disease and was going to die within 3 months is compensation necessary?
...
...
...

[Arlen Blaede]

First and foremost, no matter the amount of money, no matter the length of service or imprisonment, no matter the deaths repaid for the deed; it will not replace the the feelings of loss and the potential of the victim.

Second, the future ifs of potential and children. How do you know that the victim will do these things. Whose to say it wasn't just their time? (NOTE-I don't necessarily agree with this, I'm just taking the other side for the purpose of discovery)

Third, the homeless man, still has potential. Whose to say he would not become the next Bill Gates?

Fourth, the terminal victim (now that's just a weird phrase I never thought I would use) still has time left on the clock to address life.

In all cases, compensation is necessary, but this is one of those sticky issues where it will never be made right.

[Mithrandir]

I don't think you could even come up with a base to work from in terms of compensating a human life. After all, the value of a human life changes with who you talk to. A clown, a child, an artist, a senator, the pope, and a rabi. Which one is more valuable depends on who you talk to (though I would bet good money that the child would win in a poll). At best you could just charge enough compensation to act as a deterent next time. Personally I feel that in the case of the parking break, the fact that you killed someoine should serve as plenty of reminder next time you park on hill. But hey, if money's what you want...

[Arlen Blaede]

[quote]Orginally posted by Lawgiver

[i]

We can run around on this issue for days on end.... Way to go Eldred! :P

Well, I believe we have run around this for days on end all ready.

And to clarify and earlier statement. When I use the word compensation I don't just mean money. I also mean by deed.