Archive for the ‘Philosophical’ Category

When does manslaughter become murder? And should manslaugheter always be punished?

This video is clearly ludicrous, but it does raise an interesting hypothetical situation: if you accidentally kill someone, who is to blame and should you be punished for it? Without any context, I tend to lean on no. Of course it depends on exactly how “accidental” the killing may have been. If a person were sleeping under your car and you unknowingly drove over them, is that a punishable offence?  By law perhaps, but do you agree?