Imagine that in the public town square, there is a platform. On the platform, there is a small pedestal, and on the pedestal, there is a large red switch. It’s common knowledge that anyone can walk up to the pedestal and throw the switch at any time. If the switch is thrown, all of humanity, everywhere, will die. The specific mechanism of our death isn’t known. Maybe throwing the switch releases a universally lethal global pandemic. Maybe it detonates all nuclear weapons. Maybe it’s something more exotic, it’s an unknown. The extermination may occur instantly or it may happen over hours, weeks or even decades. It may be homo sapiens species specific or it may take the entire biosphere with us. There’s no way for you to know.
What you do know is that if that switch is thrown, all of humanity including the thrower of the switch is doomed. No argument, no debate, our time is done. You also know that you are not permitted to use any degree of force to prevent anyone else from throwing the switch because ‘reasons’. You can talk, beg, cajole and bribe someone considering throwing the switch to the best of your ability. At the end of the day though, if someone wants to throw the switch, they can and there’s not a thing you can do to stop them. (Again, because ‘reasons’. Please just go with it for this hypothetical.)
Are there any legitimate psychological studies that suggest what percentage of people would throw the switch? I would wager we all know a couple of potential switch throwers and most of us probably have our moments.
The OP seems to be asking exclusively about people who’d hit the button on purpose and being wholly conscious of the consequences. I’d be more afraid of the people who always have to go “what does this/” and punch any button without awaiting response, reading any labels, etc. You know, your stereotypical “see red button, hit red button” kind of moron. I promise they’re not just a joke (sadly).
True but in order to helpfully accommodate the second group, the switch is set at an accessible height of one meter. The “You must be this tall to kill everyone” sign is set at appropriate, child friendly level.
It would be thrown by somebody trying to prove that the whole thing is just a lie long before anybody deliberately killed the world. Probably by some angry, cynical skeptic sort who believes hirself to be infallible at bullshit detection.
Well, there is the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement:
So there’s the number of that membership, at least. I would guesstimate that there must be at least 10-20 times that membership’s number in the world who actually support such a thing, since official membership for anything is always small compared to unofficial support for that thing.
What percentage here in the U.S. where the switch is located, or what percentage world wide? I ask because we seem to have a significantly higher percentage of violently insane people than many other societies.
Take your pick. I’ll accept any well performed, applicable research that may be available.
Also, I should have noted that there are many such switches scattered around the globe in this hypothetical. >95% of the world’s population is within 250km of the nearest switch. Throwing any of the switches will trigger the genocidal event.
I’ve never pondered this, but have pondered the opposite question, that being what could humanity as a whole accomplish to prevent such a switch from being thrown. In order not to hijack this thread I’ll start a separate one about that.
Yes, it’s somewhat different, but if someone is already of the mindset that “It’s a good thing if humanity goes extinct,” then I’d consider them substantially likelier to hit that red button than most of the rest of humanity.
I dunno, several days out of the year it’s probably a coin toss whether I’d do it and there a bigger pricks out there than me. No idea how many people would do it, but it will happen within 15 minutes. Jesus I hope it’s not spiders.
A good number of suicidal people would probably push the button, too. “If I’m going to die, why not make everyone else die, too.” Especially if they are suicidal for vengeful or angry reasons.
I see it as a somewhat different mindset. Such mass shooters often are partially motivated by the desire for attention and notoriety. Such thoughts don’t apply if there likely are no survivors to read or even write the headlines.
That’s primarily my line of thought although I had not considered Scumpup’s view.
Nah, they might talk a big game but if push comes to shove and shit gets real, it’ll be clearer than Donald Trump’s dementia exactly how voluntary that movement is. Theorizing about action and actually taking action are two disparate processes.
It’s a good thing if humanity goes extinct. They clearly dont want to go extinct themselves because they’re still here.
Now this I agree with. Its one thing ive never been able to fully understand, the particularly malevolent acts of suicide in which the method and/or location for the act is preplanned with the intention of causing as much bystander trauma as possible. It’s these people who would not think twice about pressing that button.
Now this I disagree with. Depression is marked by poor judgement: that kind of “I will do this so that some other thing will happen” thinking is markedly weaker in depressed people. That’s why, among other things, suicidal people are often making mistakes like trying to commit suicide by some wholly ineffective means, or having stupid fatal accidents.
Further more, when suicidal people take out other people, it’s often clearly with the intention of helping the other people. Because being dead is better than being alive.
I’m sure a good number of murderous people would probably push the button too. Especially if they think that by doing so they can avoid the consequences of their action.
But if suicidal people can get their act together enough to push the button, they’re more likely to be motivated by the desire to help the rest of us.
I gotta disagree. Suicidal ideations dont exist in a vacuum. They exist amidst all the other wreckage of a diseased mind. Yes, often times those who commit suicide are just as you charactetize them above. Some suicides are simply an escape from crippling depression/pain. But there is no doubt that some suicides are motivated by more than just overwhelming depression.
There have been countless examples of accounts of suicides that were committed in both the most horrifically gruesome manner and in a location that exposed the largest number of people to the trauma of witnessing the act. That is some serious inchoate rage motivating the act as well. These people didn’t suffer from deficient judgment and/or cause-and-effect reasoning. Quite the opposite. These are the suicidal people who might be inclined to push that button.
