Is killing of a few to save many more justified?

[ftbno1]

It is quoted in a hindu manuscript.
Sacrifice of an individual for a family,
Sacrifice of a family for a village,
Sacrifice of a village for a nation,
And sacrifice of a nation for humanity is justified.
What's your personal take and take of other religions on this subject??

[Liberty]

Killing is obviously an extreme scenario you are putting forward, but no, I don't agree. The useful collectiveness has enabled a camouflage to be thrown over exploiting minorities in political and social life. It is evident in poll-obsessed elected officials who will say (might even do) when in power often at the cost of the common good.

There is nothing sacred about the majority; the lynch mob in its day was the majority in its own domain. I rather see decisions be made from an individualist perspective as I despise viewing situations from a society, nation state, etc POV.

[KingKhanWC]

Originally Posted by Liberty Killing is obviously an extreme scenario you are putting forward, but no, I don't agree. The useful collectiveness has enabled a camouflage to be thrown over exploiting minorities in political and social life. It is evident in poll-obsessed elected officials who will say (might even do) when in power often at the cost of the common good. There is nothing sacred about the majority; the lynch mob in its day was the majority in its own domain. I rather see decisions be made from an individualist perspective as I despise viewing situations from a society, nation state, etc POV.

Soceity could mean you immediate family. Let me ask you this..

If a bunch of bandits came to your house with a clear intention of killing your family and taking your possesions. If you had the opportunity to kill them in order to save your family would you not?

[KingKhanWC]

Interesting topic.

IMO

Yes it can be justified but only when there is clear justification.

You cannot kill innocent people. You cannot use collective punishment. You cannot see one individuals life as more important than another. You cannot kill somebody without strong evidence. You cannot kills somebody if they only(in your view) incite murder.

[Shaheerthe2nd]

It all depends on the situation imo.

[kkmix]

Originally Posted by Shaheerthe2nd It all depends on the situation imo.

Yup ... Depends on the situation and whether everyone thinks it is justified, not just yourself.

[adwords]

take the 9/11 situation, had the armed F16's above the manhattan before the 2nd WTC plane crash, it was perfectly justifiable to shoot down that plane

[Down2Earth]

we have no right to take another life unless it's in self defence.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by ftbno1 What's your personal take ??

In an extreme situation such as WW2, normal concepts of morality have failed and so you have to take the utilitarian route. It becomes a numbers game. End the war the quickest way you can, to limit the number of people killed.

[kingusama92]

Dependent upon each specific situation.

There is no one any one of us can make a generalized statement supporting or disagreeing with this.

100 % justification is required.

[Justcrazy]

NO

Killing without reason is not justified. People should fight against such things collectively.