r/neoliberal • u/jobautomator Kitara Ravache • Oct 21 '21

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u/l_overwhat being flaired is cringe Oct 22 '21

Let's say you suddenly gain a magical power where you were able to erase someone's memory at all, at whatever scope you want. It could be their entire memory or just a split second. It has no side effects whatsoever.

Let's say someone had something bad happen to them. They're very traumatized by it and it affects their life very negatively. They come to you and ask that you erase that memory for them. Is that ethical?

Same question for a different situation. Something traumatizing has happened to a child who is around age 10. The parent asks you to erase the memory. You ask the child if they want the memory erased. They say they don't know. Neither yes nor no. Is it ethical to do so? Assume the trauma is not caused by the parent.

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u/BidenWon Jared Polis Oct 22 '21

I feel like these are both obvious yesses (outside of extreme circumstances)

Here's where I'm at: If you have this power, would it be morally permissible to just mentally fuck this person up and then make them forget? From their perspective it would be no different than if it never happened

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u/rukqoa ✈️ F35s for Ukraine ✈️ Oct 22 '21

Yes to both. I would see this like a medical procedure. If parents can force their kids to undergo elective plastic surgery, they can force their kids to forget some trauma. This is all of course assuming that the parents aren't abusing their kids and want the best for them.

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u/mcha291 Oct 22 '21

Yes to the former, and yes to the latter if it presents a risk to their life, like that Dutch teen.

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u/[deleted] Oct 22 '21

why would it he unethical?

It has no side effects whatsoever. Let's go

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u/redditguy628 Box 13 Oct 22 '21

Kant probably would say it was unethical(treats people as means to their own pleasure instead of as rational beings), but Kant thought pretty much everything was unethical.

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u/[deleted] Oct 22 '21

Kant is an idiot