ABSTRACT
Consider the following dilemma: You are the captain of a military submarine. An onboard explosion has caused you to lose most of your air supply and has injured one of your crew, who is quickly losing blood. The injured crew member is going to die from his wounds no matter what. There isn't enough air for the whole crew. The only way to save them is to shoot dead the injured crew member so that there will be just enough air for the rest to survive. As a participant in a research study, you are asked: ``Is it OK for you to shoot the fatally injured crew member in order to save the lives of the remaining ones?'' In deciding what to do in this trying circumstance, what sort of information would you require? Some examples spring readily to mind, such as knowing the current level of distress of the injured man, how the remaining crew would react if you refused to shoot the injured crew member, and social norms regarding the killing of a young man. Along with a consideration of Western ethical principles, other types of information processing are less apparent but no less necessary to forming a response, such as the ability to hold in mind the con¯icting perspectives of the injured crew member and the remaining crew (including yourself ) and to inhibit a prepotent response of disgust to harming someone in your care.
