On “The Good Place” Michael turns the famous trolley problem into another form of torture for Chidi, while Jason says being mean to someone who is being nice to you is bad but he can’t put his finger on why. On the podcast, Geoff Mitelman (rabbi/science guy!) and Jon discuss how philosophical models torture us and teach us, and how understanding our brains with the insights of neuroscience can help us become better at ethical decisions.

Texts
(The links here in the citations take you to the specific quotes in their full source contexts. Go to Jewish Lexicon on this site for more on Jewish terminology, names of texts and other background.)

II Samuel 20 — story of Sheva ben Bichri
A scoundrel named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He sounded the horn and proclaimed: “We have no portion in David, no share in Jesse’s son! Every man to his tent, O Israel!”…

[Sheva] had passed through all the tribes of Israel up to Abel of Beth-maacah; and all the Beerites assembled and followed him inside. [Yoav’s men] came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah; they threw up a siegemound against the city and it stood against the rampart. All the troops with Yoav were engaged in battering the wall when a clever woman shouted from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Yoav to come over here so I can talk to him.”

He approached her, and the woman asked, “Are you Yoav?” “Yes,” he answered; and she said to him, “Listen to what your handmaid has to say.” “I’m listening,” he replied. And she continued, “In olden times people used to say, ‘Let them inquire of Abel,’ and that was the end of the matter. I am one of those who seek the welfare of the faithful in Israel. But you seek to bring death upon a mother city in Israel! Why should you destroy YHWH’s possession?” 

Yoav replied, “Far be it, far be it from me to destroy or to ruin!  Not at all! But a certain man from the hill country of Ephraim, named Sheba son of Bichri, has rebelled against King David. Just hand him alone over to us, and I will withdraw from the city.”

The woman assured Yoav, “His head shall be thrown over the wall to you.” The woman came to all the people with her clever plan; and they cut off the head of Sheva son of Bichri and threw it down to Yoav. He then sounded the horn; all the men dispersed to their homes, and Yoav returned to the king in Jerusalem.

Tosefta (3rd century C.E.) Terumot 7:23
If a group of people were told by non-Jews, “Give us one of your group and we will kill him, and if not, we will kill you all,” they should all be killed rather than surrendering even one soul of Israel. However, if they designated a specific person in the manner that Sheva ben Bichri was designated, they should surrender him to them rather than that all of them be killed.

Talmud Yerushalmi Terumot 8:4 (3rd-5th century C.E.)
Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: "This applies if he is deserving death like Sheva ben Bichri." Rabbi Yochanan said: "Even if he was not deserving of death like Sheva ben Bichri.

Rabbi Menachem Meiri (13th century), commentary on the above
It goes without saying that in the case of a group of travelers, if one of them was a trayfah, he may be surrendered in order to save the life of the rest, since the killer of a trayfah is exempt from the death penalty.

Deeper Dives

• Geoff’s Sacred Science series: “Brains and Minds: A Conversation With Rebecca Saxe, Ph.D.”

• On “moral luck” — Aeon article by Robert J. Hartman

• On the Jewish “trolley problem” sources in the context of medical triage — click here for two papers by Rabbi Elliot Dorff and Rabbi Daniel Nevins for the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of Conservative Judaism

Learn more about Geoff and Jon and how to connect with or follow them on our Hosts page!

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