Instructor: Dr.

Ehsan ul Hassan

Shaheer Ahmed
BESE-10A
CMS ID: 321953

Subject: Professional Ethics

Assignment Deadline: 15th October 2021
 The ‘Lifeboat’ Dilemma

The ship is sinking, and the seas are rough. All but one lifeboat has been destroyed. The lifeboat
holds a maximum of six people. There are ten people that want to board the lifeboat. The four
individuals who do not board the boat will certainly die.

a. Woman who is six weeks pregnant

b. Lifeguard

c. Two young adults who recently married.

d. Senior citizen who has fifteen grandchildren

e. Prominent professor at university

f. Thirteen-year-old twins

g. Veteran surgeon

h. Captain of the ship

Required:

If you are the captain, who should you allow to board the boat? And why?

Proposed Answer:

In an event of shipwreck at sea, it is the duty of the Captain and the crew to ensure the survival
of the passengers aboard. As such, the Captain of the ship and the lifeguard will be unable to
board the lifeboat. I believe this is ethically and morally sound as the passengers entrust the
captain and his crew with their safety when they board the ship. Furthermore, as the captain and
his crew (lifeguard) are providing the service of transport for their own profit, they are morally
liable to put their passengers before themselves. This ties in with business ethics as the
passengers here are the customers of the captain and his crew.

Secondly, my religious values instil that men are the protectors and maintainers of women. This
value is also reflected in the western ideology as chivalry. Hence my next decision as captain
would be to evacuate the women and children. That means the six weeks pregnant woman, the
thirteen-year-old twins and the two recently married young adults would be evacuated. It could
be argued that those newly weds have whole lives ahead of them and that they embody society
itself on a smaller level. The basis of every society is a family. This leaves only one space on the
boat.

Lastly, it is the responsibility of young and able bodied to look after the old and decrepit. It is a
common moral value and virtue preached by all major religions and ideologies. In consequence,
the final passenger to be evacuated would be the senior citizen with fifteen grandchildren.

While critics could point out that the husband from the couple can be left behind, it would result
in a broken family, which is arguably more detrimental than both them perishing at sea. They
could also argue that the senior citizen can be left out as they already have left behind a legacy in
the form of fifteen grandchildren; and that they don’t have long to live anyway. I would counter
their rubric with this disposition: It is the moral duty of the strong to look after and help the
weak. Otherwise, the structure of society would devolve into chaos. Might is right would be the
order of the day.

In conclusion, the lifeguard, the captain, the prominent professor and veteran surgeon would be
left behind. While the question dooms them to a grim fate, these men would have a better chance
faring at sea than the women, children and the old under more realistic circumstances. While the
loss of skilled individuals such as the professor and surgeon would deal a grievous blow to
society on the larger scale, it would be a noble sacrifice necessary to preserve the moral fabric of
men, women and society as a whole.

Please note, this is not a strictly statistical cost and benefit analysis of the dilemma at hand.
Rather this solution is based on the emotional expectations of religion, society and other
ideological entities.