The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #72974   Message #1262045
Posted By: Wolfgang
01-Sep-04 - 06:36 PM
Thread Name: BS: Hypothetical semi-philosophical question
Subject: RE: BS: Hypothetical semi-philosophical question
Nerd starts asking the right questions in this scenario. I'm missing two things in this mental exercise:
(1) How long will that period of reliving last? (why should I worry if it's two days?)
(2) How far extends my responsibility and the reliving of others feelings? Is there any end of the causal chain?

Example: I buy a reservation for a train. This happened to be the last reservation for a seat in that train. A women coming a bit after me didn't get a reservation and therefore rides on that train without a reservation and sits on the aisle/corridor. That causes that woman to make the aquaintance of a at the first glance nice young man. They marry eventually and 20 years later he kills her. Will I feel the pain of her daughter losing her mom this way? Mind you, I have never met any of these persons in my life but one of my thoughtless actions has triggered a chain of events.

Example: I drive a bit slower than allowed for I am lost in some thoughts. That makes me and the car behind me stop at the next red light. This delay of 1 minute 'causes' him to to be victim of an accident 2 hours later. If he had been at that point of the street one minute earlier he would not have been run over by a truck. Am I to feel the sadness of his wife?

If I would start to think about all joy and sadness my actions could theoretically have even without me knowing I couldn't live a normal life. That's why I say a clear 'no' to your hypothetical question. I wouldn't do anything different if I would believe that scenario to be possible.

However, I strongly believe in life before death and when I do wrong to someone I have imagination enough to relive their feelings, even years after the event. That's what makes me do things differently or, in the bad cases, wish I had done them differently. Some wrong actions can haunt me years later. That's bad enough, so the additional reliving wouldn't have any impact on me.

Wolfgang