Who to save - Ignorance Paradox

Who to save?

Do you save the 6-year-old

the 60-year-old?

I wonder. If it was a case of running into a burning building to save someone, a 6 year old child would be easier to carry. That gives you an inkling of the complexity of this type of question. There is not always an answer that would apply in all cases.

Some have argued that we know not of the future. A six-year-old may fall and die tomorrow. Hence, we should value all lives equally. If one were to kill either of them, the same penalty and prison term would apply.

There is good reason for selecting the six-year-old lad over the sixty-year-old man. The number of years left ahead of each is somewhat different. Besides, the sixty-year-old has had a life, he has lived, the younger one much less so. I can press this point much further as the following truth is often obscured.

Suppose we have 100 of each.

100 children

100 children and a hundred older people.

100 aduults

In thirty years’ time the result would most likely be like this:

100 children

Most of the sixty-year-olds will be burnt or buried in thirty year’s time. Practically all of them in forty, whilst a high number of six-year-olds will be celebrating their forty sixth year birthdays. Despite probably being in some form of mid-life crisis, they will be alive and well.

The human factor can come into play. Our sentimentality. Whilst one may ponder the merit of saving a sixty-year old doctor, others may go to extreme lengths to save their husband, wife, mother, father or child. We may save a person for personal reasons.

What is morally correct? The answer to that depends on your standpoint. It depends on what you decide is most important. There is no right answer. There are simply arguments that are more compelling, more something. Stand your ground and make your case.

27th December 2025