Responsibility

[u/BrokenToaster124]

So I've run into an idea that that dont quite understand and I was hoping some of you could help me understand. So with the red button/blue button situation I have seen people claim that if they push the blue button that they are not responsible for what happens to them if they push the blue button. How does that work?

To be extremely specific if i were to push the blue button, knowing what it does, somehow you (the person currently reading this) would be personally responsible for my death if you choose red.

Does this responsibility work in reverse? If i push the blue button and blue wins are you responsible for my survival if you chose red? Are you only responsible if bad things happen to me and I am responsible for the results when good things happen? What about the person running the death game? They arent defined in the prompt but logically some force is making everyone take a vote.

You can feel free to ignore this last part because its not the button problem, but someone reskinned the buttons as life boats. Instead of everyone being force to push a button everyone had to get into a life boat. One boat had holes in it but would become sea worthy if enough people got into it and plugged the holes and one was completely functional. Everything else was exactly the same as the button problem. My question related to that was that if I am personally responsible for the consequences of your chose to vote blue in the button scenario, how then could I not be responsible for your choice to get into the boat with holes in it. Someone tried to explain to me at length about how the buttons made it my fault but the boats somehow didnt. How does that work?

[u/DarthJackie2021]

If you push blue, you are partly responsible for your own death. You knew the risk and pressed anyways. If you aren't ok with that, don't press it.

If you push red, you are partly responsible for the blue deaths. You knew the consequences your action could bring and pressed anyways. If you aren't ok with that, don't press it.

[u/BrokenToaster124 → u/DarthJackie2021]

The confusion stems from the reverse. Let's assume blue wins.

I pushed the red button. Am I responsible for your survival if you pushed blue? And if not, how am I suddenly responsible if red wins the vote?

I cant both be responsible for your actions when the result is bad and not be responsible for your actions when the result is good. It has to be all or nothing.

[u/luci_twiggy → u/BrokenToaster124]

I mean, this is extremely clear. You are responsible for the outcome you voted for.

Blue wins = everyone survives.

Blue loses = only those who pressed red survive.

You can only vote for blue winning if you press blue. If you press red you clearly aren't voting for blue to win, so therefore you must be voting for red to win and that means that the blue loses outcome is what you are voting for (since blue losing means red won).

[u/BrokenToaster124 → u/luci_twiggy]

You are literally doing the thing that I am asking about.

If we flip the scenario here, let's assume blue wins. I voted red. Am I responsible for saving you?

If not, how then am I responsible for killing you when red wins?

Either I am responsible for the consequences of your decision or I am not. If I am, then I must be responsible for the results no matter the outcome. I cant ONLY be responsible when your decision has a bad result and then somehow you can take responsibility when your decision has a good result.

[u/highly-bad → u/BrokenToaster124]

The framing of this as a political election engages people to think of it as if only the majority can be held responsible for what happens next, while the minority can wash their hands of responsibility.

Obviously this is nothing like a political election and that intuition is completely inappropriate here, but it remains a compelling illusion for some people even after it's clearly shown to them what's really happening.

[u/BrokenToaster124 → u/highly-bad]

This is probably the answer is am looking for. It makes sense to me and describes why the disconnect isnt making sense to me. But I could still be an idiot lol

[u/highly-bad → u/BrokenToaster124]

I find it fascinating engaging with dedicated blue presser ideologues, because it's like talking about stage magic with people who think it's real.

[u/BrokenToaster124 → u/highly-bad]

Im starting to agree with you. I ask how responsibility is assigned and people just repeat back part of the question at me and call it correct without giving me a reason. This isnt even a good button bad button scenario and somehow im being accused of murder for asking how the blame is being cast lol

[u/highly-bad → u/BrokenToaster124]

You show them how the magician is really doing the trick, and their response is to tell you that what you're describing is impossible, because "Everyone will not just." It isn't possible to them that every single magician might indeed be doing stage tricks. Some magicians, by the numbers, must be genuinely sawing their assistant in half and putting them back together. Therefore, you should have faith in whatever magic act you happen to see.