Choking On Moral Dilemmas
I’ve had these dreams before – you know, the kind where someone is saving me from a terrifying situation, like being smothered or attacked. According to the folks over at Quora, these dreams of “someone saving me from many situations like suffocating, getting away from a fear, and getting murdered” are quite common. It seems our subconscious minds are constantly grappling with our deepest fears and anxieties, even when we’re fast asleep.
But what if those nightmarish scenarios weren’t just imaginary – what if we were actually forced to confront them in real life? Would we have the courage to make the tough choices, even if it meant sacrificing an innocent life to save many others? It’s the kind of moral conundrum that philosophers and psychologists have long debated, and a new study published in Social Neuroscience has shed some fascinating light on how we might react when faced with such high-stakes ethical quandaries.
Virtual Virtue: Moral Dilemmas in the Digital Realm
The researchers, led by neuroscientist Indrajeet Patil of the International School of Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy, put their subjects through a series of virtual reality (VR) simulations designed to mimic classic “moral dilemma” scenarios. In one, they had to steer an out-of-control car away from a group of five pedestrians, even though that would mean hitting a single person instead. In another, they could use a remote control boat to scare a school of sharks away from five swimmers – but that would mean redirecting the boat towards a lone swimmer who would then be devoured.
As the subjects navigated these high-stakes virtual situations, the researchers measured their skin conductance response (SCR) – a physiological indicator of emotional arousal. And here’s where things get really interesting: when faced with the same moral dilemmas in a traditional, non-VR format, the subjects tended to make the more “utilitarian” choice about 76% of the time, opting to sacrifice the few to save the many.
But when those same dilemmas were presented in VR, a staggering 95% of subjects took action to minimize the overall loss of life – even if that meant directly causing harm to at least one individual. And their SCR readings showed that their bodies were reacting with genuine anxiety and distress, suggesting that the virtual scenarios had managed to tap into very real emotional responses.
The Thrill of the (Moral) Kill
So what accounts for this striking difference in behavior between the traditional and VR scenarios? According to Patil, it may come down to the visceral, gut-level reaction that the virtual environments elicited. “The measurements of the subjects’ emotional arousal suggest that when arousal is greater, the subjects respond in a utilitarian manner – that is, they choose to take action to save the greatest number of people,” he explained.
In other words, when the stakes feel more immediate and the consequences more tangible, even our most deeply-held moral convictions can start to crumble. It’s a sobering thought, but one that aligns with the broader literature on human behavior and decision-making. As the TIME article on “moral dilemmas” points out, “morality can be a slippery, highly context-dependent concept” – and sometimes, the cold, hard calculus of saving the most lives can overcome our natural aversion to causing direct harm.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that morality is simple, or that we can expect 95% of people to make the “right” choice in real-life crisis situations. As Patil himself cautions, this is just one study, and much more research will be needed to fully understand the complex interplay of emotion, reason, and action when it comes to moral decision-making.
Putting It All Together
But for now, the takeaway seems to be this: when the stakes feel high and the pressure is on, even the most principled among us may find ourselves capable of making tough choices that we’d never have imagined possible. It’s a sobering thought, to be sure – but also a reminder that we’re all capable of surprising ourselves, for better or for worse, when the suffocation scenarios of our nightmares become all too real.
As I sit here in my cozy home office, staring out at the bustling streets of Philadelphia, I can’t help but wonder how I might react if I was suddenly thrust into one of those moral maelstroms. Would I have the courage to steer that runaway car, or the stomach to turn that remote control boat? I honestly don’t know – and I hope I never have to find out.
But one thing’s for sure: if I ever do find myself in a life-or-death situation, I’ll be grateful for the custom window treatments that adorn my home, providing a cozy, comfortable refuge from the chaos of the outside world. After all, even if I can’t control the moral dilemmas that life throws my way, I can at least curate the sanctuary of my own living space. And who knows – maybe that’ll be enough to keep the suffocation scenarios at bay, both in my dreams and in reality.
