Carneades
- Thread starter MangaDex
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2018
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- 620
Carneades was an "old dead Greek guy" who became the head honcho of the Academy in Greece back in 150 or so BC. One of the most well known things he expoused was something people later called the "Plank of Carneades". The Plank of Carneades is a thought-provoking challenge about making tough choices when it comes to right and wrong. Imagine that two sailors have survived a shipwreck and are stuck out in the ocean with only one piece of wood, or plank, to keep them afloat. The problem is, the plank is only big enough for one person. If both of them try to use it, they’ll both drown. But if one sailor grabs the plank and saves himself, he could be seen as letting the other sailor die. This scenario was introduced by Carneades to stir up questions about fairness and what we should do in super tough situations.
Here’s another way to look at it: The Plank of Carneades is like a puzzle without a clear solution, intended to make us scratch our heads about what’s fair when life is on the line. It was dreamed up by Carneades, who doubted that there were set-in-stone rules for what’s right and what’s wrong. He used the story of the two sailors and the single-use plank to show that sometimes, what’s fair or just might change depending on the situation, especially when people’s lives are at risk.
The Plank of Carneades doesn’t give us a neat answer because it’s really about getting us to talk and think about how we make moral choices. Some people might think we should just focus on what happens as a result, others might lean on ethical rules, and some might say it should be left to chance, like flipping a coin. Today, philosophers use this story to talk about fairness and to show how our ethical choices are often influenced by our own personal views and the situation we’re in.
Anyway... I'm guessing that the author of this manga intends to put us (or rather, the characters) through something similar to what Carneades was getting at - or he would've named this manga something different.
Sorry about the tl;dr, but I just wanted people to know about the strange name of this manga and what it might entail.
Here’s another way to look at it: The Plank of Carneades is like a puzzle without a clear solution, intended to make us scratch our heads about what’s fair when life is on the line. It was dreamed up by Carneades, who doubted that there were set-in-stone rules for what’s right and what’s wrong. He used the story of the two sailors and the single-use plank to show that sometimes, what’s fair or just might change depending on the situation, especially when people’s lives are at risk.
The Plank of Carneades doesn’t give us a neat answer because it’s really about getting us to talk and think about how we make moral choices. Some people might think we should just focus on what happens as a result, others might lean on ethical rules, and some might say it should be left to chance, like flipping a coin. Today, philosophers use this story to talk about fairness and to show how our ethical choices are often influenced by our own personal views and the situation we’re in.
Anyway... I'm guessing that the author of this manga intends to put us (or rather, the characters) through something similar to what Carneades was getting at - or he would've named this manga something different.
Sorry about the tl;dr, but I just wanted people to know about the strange name of this manga and what it might entail.
