Making Sense with Sam Harris #198 — A Conversation with Paul Bloom
Apr 16, 2020
Paul Bloom, a Yale psychology professor, dives into the complex relationship between the economy and public health during the pandemic. He explores the ethics of valuing human life and the moral dilemmas faced in lockdown decisions. Their conversation touches on how Covid-19 may shift societal norms and behaviors, especially regarding education and social interactions. Bloom also reflects on children's resilience amidst disruption and the psychological impacts of collective trauma, emphasizing the importance of community support.
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The Implicit Price of Life
- Governments and individuals implicitly place a value on human life through resource allocation decisions.
- This becomes apparent when considering trade-offs like car safety features versus cost.
False Lockdown Comparison
- Comparing lockdown costs to pre-lockdown normalcy is flawed; consider lockdown compared to an uncontrolled pandemic.
- Uncontrolled spread would devastate economies and healthcare systems due to overwhelming illness.
Moral Arithmetic of Life and Death
- Accepting statistical deaths for normalcy differs morally from condoning explicit human sacrifice.
- Our moral intuition struggles to reconcile large-scale statistical risks with individual, identifiable lives.