A Hypothetical Dilemma

**Fandrew** · 10-10-2007, 03:13 PM

I've been wondering this, and I figure this is the place to propose this situation...

Let's I'm walking out in the student parking lot at Two O'clock in the afternoon. I am headed to my truck, about to go home. It is a cloudy day, and raindrops start to fall. As I hurry to my truck, I saw a 1992 Toyota Carolla sitting there with its windows down.

As a rational human being, if the car is unlocked, and the windows are functional, am I obligated to get into a complete stranger's car and roll the windows up for her/him?

Morally, it would seem the "right" thing to do, as opposed to letting the interior of this car get wet. But, it's also an invasion of privacy.

Think about it.

jengoesup · 10-10-2007, 03:58 PM

I would do it. But I'd make sure a cop wasn't watching who thought I was about to break into someone's car.

Pre-Ex-Girlfriend · 10-10-2007, 04:01 PM

Car alarms can go off even with the windows down, right? I'd be afraid of an alarm going off - even on a '92 Corolla.

**Fandrew** · 10-10-2007, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emo_Rachael

Car alarms can go off even with the windows down, right? I'd be afraid of an alarm going off - even on a '92 Corolla.

That's pretty much why I said '92 Carolla. Most likely, it doesn't have an alarm.

Xkcer Man · 10-10-2007, 09:57 PM

Roll 'em up.

+SEAL+ · 10-10-2007, 10:23 PM

And this is the Philosophy forum? Come on, let's see some more thought-out posts.

First of all, let's question these assumptions you're making. You assume that you're under an obligation to protect this individual's property. In a case when you could protect another's property without any risk or injury to yourself, or to the other party, there most certainly is an obligation. I would, however, argue that in the situation you describe, since there is a privacy issue, that there is a reduced or nonexistent obligation.

It just depends how much you value another's privacy. Privacy is not a tangible value, whereas the non-wetness of a car's interior is a tangible value. I would argue that privacy trumps non-wetness, because intangible values are spiritual, not physical, and are thus of a higher order.

That's just a springboard, take it from there.

tropicana · 10-10-2007, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayCarrfan

I've been wondering this, and I figure this is the place to propose this situation...

Let's I'm walking out in the student parking lot at Two O'clock in the afternoon. I am headed to my truck, about to go home. It is a cloudy day, and raindrops start to fall. As I hurry to my truck, I saw a 1992 Toyota Carolla sitting there with its windows down.

As a rational human being, if the car is unlocked, and the windows are functional, am I obligated to get into a complete stranger's car and roll the windows up for her/him?

Morally, it would seem the "right" thing to do, as opposed to letting the interior of this car get wet. But, it's also an invasion of privacy.

Think about it.

I would say no. Leave other people's stuff alone. I would not be pleased if someone got into my car, without my permission, when I was not around, and the last car I drove was an '86 Escort. Besides, if this person does not care/is not responsible enough to secure their property before they leave it in a public place, they deserve to have a wet butt driving home.

Besides, what would happen if later on the car was stolen, and your fingerprints are on it?
What if the owner is a large, angry man (or, say, an angry woman with pepper spray) who sees you getting into the car, catches up to you inside it, and lets into you? After all, they would see it as protecting their property. (And pepper spray hurts.)
What if a cop sees you and arrests you for attempted grand theft auto?
What if there's a dead body or a sleeping German Shepard in the back seat?
Hypotheticals aside, it's not your property, and it's not your responsibility.

Nate · 10-11-2007, 08:18 AM

Y'all are a bunch of uncreative bozos.

Go get a few plastic garbage bags from the nearest cleaning lady (on my campus, at least, said ladies are to be found approximately every 50 feet), find some fairly heavy rocks from the ground, and lay the garbage bags over the windows, keeping them from blowing away by using the rocks.

Actually, I'd probably just do it, damnit. Leave a note on the dash.

**Fandrew** · 10-11-2007, 08:29 AM

I wouldn't do it. I'd be much too afraid of the car's owner walking up and accusing me of something. However, if say I came to church and my friend's windows were rolled down in his truck, I'd do it. I guess most everyone would then.

Ax · 10-11-2007, 11:09 AM

What if the person's keys were in the car? Hmm? Then you'd be locking them out of it. Or, what if the windows were power windows? I think Nate obviously has the superior answer, only, by the time you went and got the trash bags from the cleaning lady, it'd probably be way too late.

+SEAL+ · 10-11-2007, 01:48 PM

Most of you are missing the point of the question...the point is, is altruism better than privacy? Don't get bogged down in details of a specific situation. That's not philosophy, that's advice-giving.

bobthecockroach · 10-11-2007, 01:55 PM

Except you're over-generalized the situation. It's not just altruism vs. privacy. It's more like... is it ok to invade the privacy of someone's property in order to protect that property.

Nate · 10-11-2007, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AXguitar

I think Nate obviously has the superior answer, only, by the time you went and got the trash bags from the cleaning lady, it'd probably be way too late.

Ah, but not if they were Loyola super-awesome cleaning ladies who are always within ear-, if not eye-, shot.

tropicana · 10-11-2007, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate

Ah, but not if they were Loyola super-awesome cleaning ladies who are always within ear-, if not eye-, shot.

The only equivalent we have to that type of cleaning lady is the super creepy UBC Plant Ops crew. Nobody knows what they do or how they do it, but they're everywhere on campus, always.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Another Straight

Except you're over-generalized the situation. It's not just altruism vs. privacy. It's more like... is it ok to invade the privacy of someone's property in order to protect that property.

And in the example he gave, I would say no. You have no business going in to a stranger's car, whether you're doing a "good deed" or not.
In a more general sense, I would say that it depends. If you know the person (especially if they're a close friend or a family member), then it would likely be okay. But you have no right to violate the privacy of a stranger's property, even if you think it's in the stranger's interest. Why? It's not your property.

***BillSPrestonEsq*** · 10-11-2007, 11:39 PM

I wouldn't do it.

Maybe, it is having my insanely twisted cousins who drive crappy but booby trapped cars,(one will light and shoot firecrackers at you, using the dome light as a power source, and the other can set your foot on fire if you open the door wrong, via flammables and the same electrical source) or maybe it is having my old 88 Sable before the engine blew with its myriad of eccentricities, but I would not do that. I have seen alarms of strange and homemade variety that were disturbing enough to make me gunshy. And, while pepper spray does hurt, I would be more afraid of getting shot or maimed by the owner or something left behind in the car.

I just do not want to get caught breaking into a car even for altruistic reasons.