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NL888 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
If not obligatory?
Does "if not obligatory" mean "if not required by obligation/duty/authority/command"?
Context:
Typical of Hauser's moral dilemmas are variations on the theme
of a runaway truck or 'trolley' on a railway line which threatens to
kill a number of people. The simplest story imagines a person,
Denise, standing by a set of points and in a position to divert the
trolley onto a siding, thereby saving the lives of five people trapped
on the main line ahead. Unfortunately there is a man trapped on the
siding. But since he is only one, outnumbered by the five people
trapped on the main track, most people agree that it is morally
permissible, if not obligatory, for Denise to throw the switch and
save the five by killing the one. We ignore hypothetical possibilities
such as that the one man on the siding might be Beethoven, or a
close friend.
Context:
Typical of Hauser's moral dilemmas are variations on the theme
of a runaway truck or 'trolley' on a railway line which threatens to
kill a number of people. The simplest story imagines a person,
Denise, standing by a set of points and in a position to divert the
trolley onto a siding, thereby saving the lives of five people trapped
on the main line ahead. Unfortunately there is a man trapped on the
siding. But since he is only one, outnumbered by the five people
trapped on the main track, most people agree that it is morally
permissible, if not obligatory, for Denise to throw the switch and
save the five by killing the one. We ignore hypothetical possibilities
such as that the one man on the siding might be Beethoven, or a
close friend.
Top answer
NL888 most people agree that it is morally permissible, if not obligatory , for Denise to throw the switch and save the five by killing the one. if not obligatory ~ perhaps even required ~ (not only permissible, but more than that,) maybe even required X, if not Y, where Y is a more extreme form of X, is a fairly common idiom where the words "if not" cannot always be taken literally. quite well-off, if not rich (maybe even rich) dying, if not already dead (maybe even already dead) a highly intelligent man, if not a genius (maybe even a genius) CJ
- NL888 most people agree that it is morally permissible, if not obligatory , for Denise to throw the switch and save the five by killing the one.
- if not obligatory ~ perhaps even required ~ (not only permissible, but more than that,) maybe even required X, if not Y, where Y is a more extreme form of X, is a fairly common idiom where the words "if not" cannot always be taken literally.
- quite well-off, if not rich (maybe even rich) dying, if not already dead (maybe even already dead) a highly intelligent man, if not a genius (maybe even a genius) CJ
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1 Answers
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NL888most people agree that it is morally permissible, if not obligatory, for Denise to throw the switch and save the five by killing the one.if not obligatory ~ perhaps even required
~ (not only permissible, but more than that,) maybe even required
X, if not Y, where Y is a more extreme form of X, is a fairly common idiom where the words
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