Do people "owe" anything to mankind?

[Sideswipe001]

Scenario:

An independant researcher discovers the cure for cancer one night, after many years of work. He calls his friends and tells them he wants to go out and celebrate. He goes out with his friends, gets totally smashed, and attempts to drive home drunk. He crashes and dies in a car accident on his way home. It's discovered that the only copy of his research was kept on a disk that he had on his person, which was also destroyed in the car wreck.


In this theoretical circumstance, did the man have a greater "responsibility" to mankind to no drink and drive until his findings could be published? Or does it simply go to bad luck?

Basically, I want to know if people think that they have any responsibility to mankind, or just to themselves.

Do you have the right to be a jerk? Or do you really "owe" it to society to try to make mankind better? Should you make personal sacrifices for the good of the whole? Or it ALL about personal choice? Change the above example. Say he has the cure, and is offered less money for it than he desires, so he destroys the research rather than let everyone have it, because he feels slighted. Does that change anything?

I've always believed that it's the role of every man to try to lift up those around them - to make socieity better for everyone. But I really wonder if I'm alone in feeling this anymore. How much of what we do should be held accountable for to all mankind, if any? What is everyone else's thoughts on the matter?

 

[vshah]

well, owing anything or not, responsibility or not, such a retard could never find the cure for cancer, so your question is moot

 

[TallBill]

Well, does he kill anyone else in the car wreck?

Data recovery these days is pretty amazing.

 

[Amused]

If everyone is responsible for themselves, than no one NEEDS to be responsible for others.

Personal responsibility is paramount if you want freedom.

 

[BrokenVisage]

If we didn't work to help others while bettering ourselves we would have perished as a species long, long ago.. just think about the foundation that had to be laid in medival times even that helped us get to civilized times.

 

[rocadelpunk]

personally: yes, I would put others before myself...that's just my nature.

I'd have to imagine if this was a person's work...to find a cure for cancer that he/she also is the type of person who would put the greater good before him/herself.

Secondly, as a geek, I would have backups : d

 

[Sideswipe001]

Originally posted by: rocadelpunk
personally: yes, I would put others before myself...that's just my nature.

I'd have to imagine if this was a person's work...to find a cure for cancer that he/she also is the type of person who would put the greater good before him/herself.

Secondly, as a geek, I would have backups : d

I figured that most geeks here would say that. But I've known many people lazy about them too. So I figured the analogy holds.

I'd say that it's impossible for everyone to just be responsible for themselves, though. There would be no nations, no laws...no families even, if we were all responsible only for ourselves.

 

[BriGy86]

damn i voted "myself" with out reading the question

i don't think anyone has the "right" to be a jerk unless the person they are being a jerk to deserves it

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Sideswipe001

Originally posted by: rocadelpunk
personally: yes, I would put others before myself...that's just my nature.

I'd have to imagine if this was a person's work...to find a cure for cancer that he/she also is the type of person who would put the greater good before him/herself.

Secondly, as a geek, I would have backups : d

I figured that most geeks here would say that. But I've known many people lazy about them too. So I figured the analogy holds.

I'd say that it's impossible for everyone to just be responsible for themselves, though. There would be no nations, no laws...no families even, if we were all responsible only for ourselves.

But... it would have been more work for him to have put it on a disk and brought it with him than it would to have just saved it on the HDD.

 

[MoPHo]

The guy owes the same amount to everyone else for finding that that we would owe to him. however, he should be entitled to massive amounts of praise and since our society is founded on having stuff, he should be given alot of it by us. But since people would be looking out for themselves (when they get the cure) and not really care about him, then he doesn't really owe them anything.

guess i'm trying to say that you don't "owe" everyone as a whole. i think you only "owe" those people who feel the need to "owe" you. Because certain people don't feel anything else for another person, to me, seems like no one would "owe" them anything. but someone who truly feels for another, should be "owed" the same in return.

 

[sixone]

He had a responsibility to everyone to not drink and drive period. He doesn't get a pass on that just because he was celebrating an accomplishment, no matter how important it was. I think we each have an obligation to not make things worse for any individual or for 'mankind.'

As for making things better, that's debatable and too subjective. Should I give up my job working 'for the man' in order to donate my time in a hospital helping others? It'd be nice, but I'm not obligated in any way to do that.

 

[yoda291]

While I don't believe anyone "owes" mankind anything, I believe there is social responsibility. ideally, people should work towards the overall good, but I also believe this is patently impossible. Plus, it's a little grey where social responsibility ends and abuse starts. People should be given equal treatment in terms of items like nutrition, healthcare, education. Because of man's natural drive for the acquisition for personal wealth, this is impossible. Pharmaceutical companies will never charge less than they can get away with and doctors rarely become doctors "just to help people". The best surgeons in the world are also some of the highest paid ones. Farmers will always want the highest price for food, regardless of how much people need it. Wealthier neighborhoods will almost always have access to more educational opportunities than poorer regions.

On the flip side, it is this drive and greed that fuels innovation which makes advancement possible. If we took from those who produce to give to those who need, there would be no incentive to innovate. Our unlucky scientist here expected no accolades, no money, nothing of actual worth to come his way from it, he would not have developed the cure. This is shown by the fact that he chooses to celebrate his accomplishment. No man should have the right to take what I have earned with my own 2 hands simply because he "needs" it. At what point do we draw the line between "need" and "want"?

 

[BriGy86]

a short way to put it is... no one should go out of there way to make things/life/experiences horrible for other people

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Amused
If everyone is responsible for themselves, than no one NEEDS to be responsible for others.

Personal responsibility is paramount if you want freedom.

that only works if people's preference order is similar to others.

it's not.

 

[Compton]

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Amused
If everyone is responsible for themselves, than no one NEEDS to be responsible for others.

Personal responsibility is paramount if you want freedom.

that only works if people's preference order is similar to others.

it's not.

It isn't?

We all have the same basic needs and desires. No one wants to be robbed, raped or killed. Everyone needs food, water and shelter.

If everyone takes care of themselves, then everyone is taken care of.

 

[JLGatsby]

"And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and price.

This god, this one word: I."

--Ayn Rand

?I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone?s right to one minute of my life. Nor to any part of my energy. Nor to any achievement of mine?.I wished to come here and say that I am a man who does not exist for others.?

--Ayn Rand (as John Galt)

 

[JulesMaximus]

The only reason people do things like this is for selfish reasons like fame, recognition, or money. There are those rare exceptions but I think even those people do it to improve their self image so ultimately it is for selfish reasons.

If one person discovered it another one will in time.

 

[desy]

We live in a society which means we have societal responsibilities, argue away at what those are, its why we have a P/N
In this case this guy had a reponsibility to not drink and drive and a reposnibility to whatever contract he was held to, to find a cure but fate interviened.
Too bad society you'll have to wait a while

 

[Legend]

So what you're saying is that somehow, a guy spontaneously comes up with a solution and only saves it on a disc.

Because any real job would take a long time and the guy would save his work on to some sort of central backup system.

 

[edro]

Your example sucks because he dies.

A better example, is if he just didn't want to publish his results, but he had a real cure.

 

[skace]

If man does not owe anything to anyone but himself, then how is he here, how did he survive, how does he function. Can everyone steal the knowledge back that has been given to him. His parents may have raised him, but who raised his parents, who defended their country, and their forefathers, and maybe 500 years ago his family was the poorest one ever but survived based on the good deeds of others. How absolutely fvcking short sighted it is to say you don't need anyone else and thereby shouldn't help anyone else. It is like the young kid who tells the old man that health insurance is stupid because he is completely healthy right now.

But that response was more towards all of the replies in this thread. As to the original post, he does not owe it to anyone to give the cure. Because if this actually occured, the world would go on knowing that there simply isn't a cure for cancer, nothing would change. The only person he has truely let down is himself, he worked hard and had finally found the fruits of his labor, a cure for one of the harshest and most unavoidable diseases in existence. And he threw it all away for one night of trivial celebrating and really poor judgement of driving drunk. Another choice and his name would have been paramount to modern medicine, but instead his name would be nothing.

 

[MattCo]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Amused
If everyone is responsible for themselves, than no one NEEDS to be responsible for others.

Personal responsibility is paramount if you want freedom.

that only works if people's preference order is similar to others.

it's not.

It isn't?

We all have the same basic needs and desires. No one wants to be robbed, raped or killed. Everyone needs food, water and shelter.

If everyone takes care of themselves, then everyone is taken care of.

Amused,
Not implying anything either way (I havent made up my mind on this discussion yet) but I am curious - Do you donate to charity?

-MC

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
The only reason people do things like this is for selfish reasons like fame, recognition, or money. There are those rare exceptions but I think even those people do it to improve their self image so ultimately it is for selfish reasons.

If one person discovered it another one will in time.

Exactly. Altruism does not result in progress. Altruism is slavery.

 

[ATLien247]

I don't think anything is owed, but I do think a good person tries to make the world better.