Deadliest Philosopher : Midterm Project by Logan Whiles - H01

          So, here’s my idea for my midterm project. It’s a three-part spin off, in the form of blog posting, of the television show Deadliest Warrior. I think I’ll call it Deadliest Philosopher. I’ll follow the format of the show by listing off attributes of two philosophers and then put them head to head in a philosophical battle at the end to determine which philosopher had the sturdiest ideas, obviously in my own opinion. This philosophical battle may come as a debate on a subject, a look at how each philosopher may handle the same situation, or anything sort of environment I come up with that is tailored appropriately to the subject matter and the specialties of the competitors.

Julian Savulescu vs. St. Augustine

(Practical Ethics vs. Religious Ethics)

          This is a long post so I’ll shorten the background section – Savulescu argues from a consequential standpoint in regards to ethics. He usually discusses views on medical ethics, and challenges current viewpoints with a look at the reality behind the science and the benefits of the field. Augustine was a curious man. He wanted to find answers to back up his faith. In his later life, he was a very Godly man. He is even commonly known as St. Augustine.

Now to begin:

          Setting - In some parallel dimension where the only thing altered is the fact that somehow Julian Savulescu’s brother, George, and Augustine’s sister, Sally, are married…oh, and they all live in the U.S., which has a crumbled economy, a dictator (Barack Obama) that wants to enslave the Caucasian race to fight the onslaught of the Chinese Army that has been invading and terrorizing the country for 1.3 years, and couple in question both have extremely low-paying jobs. George and Sally recently found out they are pregnant, and they don’t know what to do. They call a family meeting to help them decide how they should handle the situation. 

George Savulescu: Good afternoon to everyone. It’s always a pleasure to see your faces. We regret to have received news that Kathy and her family are holed up somewhere on the west coast and have no means of escape, so they won’t be joining us today.

Sally Savulescu: So, you all know why you’re here. I’m pregnant, and George and I can’t raise this child alone. We don’t want to have an abortion and adoption is obviously out of the question. We seem to be left without a choice but to ask for help. Any advice on how we should handle this situation, and any offer of help would be very much appreciated.

Random Family Member: Sally, we don’t know what to tell ya. We’ve been talking and it seems everyone here is struggling just as much as George and you. I don’t think anyone has the room or the means to help you care for some child.

Random Family Member 2: George, how are you going to take care of this baby? It’ll need check ups and medical care that I’m not so sure your hospital can provide.

At this point the crowd seems to be expecting to hear word from a man standing quietly in the corner, George’s brother, Julian. But someone emerges from the crowd and takes the center of the room to speak. It is Sally’s brother, Aurelius.

Augustine: If I may, I feel as though this gathering has begun on the wrong foot. We all recognize the peril that this situation entails, so firstly, can we not take a moment to appreciate the gift that has been handed to us by God? Marriage is a holy act, a good act. And from marriage, God willing, comes pro-creation, one of the greatest goods known to man. While we may be lost on what the future will hold for my sister and her wonderful husband, this should be how a happy occasion, and the couple should be praised for they are pleasing God. It cannot be argued that my sister and brother-in-law are wonderful people. Will they not find a way to make due for this child?

Julian Savulescu: I’m sorry, Augustine. I respect you as a brother but this is outrageous. Look outside, friend. I hear where you’re coming from, I really do. But maybe, in this case, it is a greater evil to bring a child into this world with no certainty of its well being. The infant will be a prisoner to our current state of affairs. Would you rather have this prisoner tortured by living in this hell, or let down swiftly and without pain?

Augustine: Are you suggesting we intervene, Julian?

Savulescu: Yes, while it may leave a sour taste in all of our mouths, for we truly do love George and Sally very much, I think the best thing for our family and even their child-to-be, would be to find an abortion clinic as soon as possible, to ensure the most humane “intervention” possible to us at this point.

Augustine: …I’ll have to disagree with you. We are merely humans, planning to impose on our God’s plan. Does this seem smart to you, Julian? Will you bite the hand that feeds? Will you chew until it bleeds?

Savulescu: I don’t know, Aurelius, I’m only thinking of the inevitable consequences here. I don’t know if I feel morally secure allowing this child to live in this war-torn country. We may not know the perfect answer, but we were given free will for a reason weren’t we? Should we not exercise it and make the best decision that we can with our options?

Augustine: Yes, we have free will. We have free will so we can please God by making the right choices. By making the wrong choice, we are contributing to the evil in this world.

          Geeez…after writing this I don’t know who I want to pick as the better philosopher (these two are both some of my absolute favorites). I’m going to say Julian Savulescu was the better philosopher in this situation. He is pushing the beliefs of Augustine, as a philosopher should, but doing it in a very respectful manner. Whereas Augustine keeps referring to religion, and while I tried to make Augustine as humble as possible, necessity forced me to keep his tone slightly pompous. It didn’t sound right if Augustine wasn’t so sure of himself. I couldn’t help but side more with Savulescu though, the odds of the child having an inexplicably terrible life are much higher than it surviving happily. So, I think it would be less evil to take the abortion route with good and humble intentions. Savulescu admits he could be wrong, and it may be a morally evil choice, but we are all human, and we cannot be expected to make the right choice every time. The man who makes the choice that seems to have the best possible outcome can’t be condemned too harshly if he is wrong, in my opinion. But, for those of you who agree with Augustine, I thought up an awesome sequel for the baby: The couple goes through with the child rearing, the boy learns to survive on very little and turns out to be the most resourceful member of the family. He grows strong, every day of his life hating the oppressive Chinese, which eventually take over and put all Americans in concentration camps that now wreak of racism from the all-white draft issued during the war. On his 25^th birthday he leads a revolt, and in a matter of six months, nearly single-handedly overthrows the Chinese leaders, and drops an organized-reaction U-235 bomb on every capital of North America, sinking the entire continent into the ocean, which he walks on with his back to the explosion.

Winner : Julian Savulescu

Word Count: 1293

P.S. sorry about the forced lyrical quote there, since it's still stuck in my head though, here's a song that can be reverse-applied to fit Augustine's angle...kind of.

Works Referenced

Warburton, Nigel. A Little History of Philosophy. New Haven: Yale University Press

            2011. Print.

Edmonds, David, and Nigel Warburton. Philosophy Bites. New York: Oxford

            University Press Inc. 2012. Print.

http://origin.ewtn.com/library/bishops/vasapelosi.htm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9113394/Killing-babies-no-different-from-abortion-experts-say.html

http://juliansavulescu.typepad.com/