人数真的重要吗?

Should the Numbers Count?

一个分配者打算在成员不相重叠的两组人之间分配一个稀缺的好处。按照假设,所有人在与道德相关的方面不存在任何差异,然而所要分配的好处却无法满足所有人的需要。一个需要回答的伦理问题出现了:分配者应该把好处分配给哪一方——多数一方还是少数一方?答案是:分配者应该通过抛硬币来决定哪一方会得到所要分配的好处。支持这种解决方案的理由是:分配者没有道德上的义务把好处分配给多数一方,未经合理的分配程序而把好处直接给多数一方的做法在道德上是不被允许的。

As an allocator intends to give a scarce and personally owned good to two non-overlapping groups of persons-say,one person versus five persons,assuming all six persons cannot be distinguished from one another in morally relevant differences and the allocator has no special tie with any specific person,a quick question regarding the allocation of the good is which of two parties is to receive the good.The answer many would like to spell out is likely to be that,given there is no morally relevant differences among all six persons involved,the allocator is required to take the relative number of persons of both sides into consideration and give the good to the many,since more persons are allowed to get benefit from the allocation.The number of people on both sides seem to provide a great ground for the policy of saving the many in conflicting sets.For those who sympathize with the consequentialist reasoning would not even take this question as a legitimate question which we need take effort to cope with.The allocator should flip an unbiased coin to decide which of two parties is to get the good in question.This paper argues that the allocator is under no duty to save the many instead of the few,saving the few is then morally permitted,and giving the good directly to the many without implementing a random selection is morally wrong or at least not permitted.