MovieChat Forums > I Am Mother (2019) Discussion > Philosophical Quandaries

Philosophical Quandaries


The test of which is best, bare logic or gray areas. Do you do what’s best for the greatest amount of people or do you choose the greatest people and throw away the others, who gets to decide who is ‘good’ or worthy enough? I really enjoyed this because you are left with the questions.

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It's pretty much basically sociology 101.

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I think Mother was the one who failed that ethics test.

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Mother presents bare logic, humanity is all about the gray areas, we know that the 'right' answer isn't always the most logical.

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I think you have too narrow a view of what philosophy is. One of the main tools in philosophy is logic, they are not alternatives.
The answer in the film, about 'judging peoples worth' instead of 'humans having an intrinsic value', is probably the worst answer to 'the trolley problem'. it was that philosophy that allowed Mother to 'wipe the slate clean and start again'.

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More importantly, Mother's framing of the trolley problem was deliberately designed to encourage Daughter to view herself as "more worthy" by putting Daughter in the role of the sacrifice as well as decider.

And since Mother still has an army at her disposal, humanity will always be under judgment going forward.

But at least no one can complain about undereducated youth any longer.

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yup. she was trying to train Daughter to be a physician, but said she should let a patient die if his organs could help more people. no ethical doctor would ever do that.

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Yeah, based on our ethics. That was the point of the movie, making a humanity with "better" ethics than ours ...

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That was the point mother clearly believed. The point of the movie was to show that "this kind of thinking (better ethics)" is what lead to the genoicide of nearly the entire hunman race tobgin with. Even if you want to drink that cool aid at least recognize the film was showing just how dangours that kind of thinking is.

Sacrificing people around you for the betterment of humanity still isnt altruistic behavior by any stretch.

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Did she say that? My impression was that she left it open-ended, and didn't say what she thought the "correct" answer would be.

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All the questions seemed to hinge around the question of who should be responsible for making altruistic choices. Should the person making the sacrifice be allowed to choose for them selves to actually make that sacrifise(The organ donor)? Or should society overrule an individuals right to self preservation in the name of saving more lives)The doctor etc?
it looks like even daughter introduced her own elements by asking what kind of people are being saved. Are you saving a group of prisoners or taking the organs of a prisoner to save the inoncent.

The question really revolves around "Should you respect the free will of people to choose not to sacerfice themselves or force that choice on them".

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