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WOULD IT BE ETHICAL TO GO, BACK IN TIME TO KILL BABY HITLER> HMM... IT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD, BUT THEN YOU GET A FUZZY BORDER PROBLEM AT THE EXTREMES, IT'S CLEARLY OKAY TO KILL BABY HITLER AND CLEARLY NOT OKAY TO KILL, SAY, BABY HELEN KELLER. IF YOU TAKE ALL HUMAN BEINGS WHO EVER LIVED AND ORDER THEM BY OKAY-TO-MURDER-NESS, IS THERE A CUTOFF POINT FOR TIME-TRAVELING MURDER? CAN YOU KILL THE MEDIAN BABY? THE AVERAGE BABY? THAT'S EASY. YOU JUST SCALE THE PUNISHMENT TO THE POSITION IN THE LIST. IT'S OKAY TO MURDER BABY HITLER. THE MEDIAN BABY DESERVES A SPANKING. BABY HELEN KELLERS GET A PIECE OF CANDY AND A FRIENDLY PAT ON THE HEAD. SO... IF TIME TRAVEL WERE POSSIBLE... YOU'D EXPECT THAT SOMETIMES BABIES JUST START CRYING FOR NO REASON WHILE YOU'RE OUT OF THE ROOM. BUT THEN... THAT MEANS... TIME-TRAVELING BABY-SPANKERS. THE MOST PARSIMONIOUS EXPLANATION. smbc-comics.com

I'VE DONE IT! I WENT BACK IN TIME AND KILLED ADOLF HITLER AS A BABY! HEY! THIS GUY SAYS HE KILLED A BABY! WHO'S ADOLF HITLER? NEVER HEARD OF HIM. Cyanide and Happiness © Explosm.net

nut mag Dear Reader: Could You Killa Baby Hitler? 28% Not sure 30% No 42% Yes

AT LONG LAST, GRIMBLy, I'VE DONE IT! MY TIME MACHINE 15 FINALLy FINISHED! 1881 NOW I, DR. MATTHIAS MORDER, WILL GO BACK IN TIME AND KILL HITLER WHEN HE WAS SUST A BABY, THUS SECURING My PLACE IN HISTORY AS BOTH GENMUS AND HERO! ONWARD, TO GREATNESS! 18890 Moden History of Time Travel 45 History's First Time-Travelling Murderer Matthias Morder, lab assistant to Dr. Archer Grimbly was arrested shortly after he illegally used Grimbly's time machine to travel back to the year 1889 to murder an innocent child named Adolf Hitler. He is well known throughout history as the First Temporal Criminal, and widely regarded as one of the most atrocious human beings to ever live

nut mag Dear Reader: Could You Killa Baby Hitler? 28% Not sure 30% No 42% Yes nyt NYT Magazine mag Follow @NYTmag We asked @nytmag readers: If you could go back and kill Hitler as a baby, would you do it? (What's your response?) 2:04 PM - 23 Oct 2015 다 1,045 615

NE IM GOING BACK IN TIE NO THE To Kiu BABY HITLER WILL BE UNPREDICTABLE THE RESULTS WERE HARD TO ARGUe WORLD GOP SUP 3a%, HAPPINESS IS UP 56%, AND THE TOOTHBRUSH MUSTACHE IS WORN WITH PRIDE AROUND THE wORLD BECAME ADDICTS LETS KILL STALIN AND GENGHIS KHAN ANO THE Guy uHo FIRST PUT RAISINS ㈧ CARROT CAKE/ HIGHER GDP HIGHER HAPPNESS AND JESUS COMES TO VISIT ON WEEKENDS WAD THE IMPALER/ JTACK THE THE FIRST GUY WHO PUT RAISNS IN CooKIEs UNITY THANK YOU FOR VOTING FOR THE TIME TRAVEL PARTY WITH YOUR HELP WE SHALL CONTINUE LOOKING INTRODUCING POuTICS INTO THE PROCESS VED TO BE A MISTAKE YOUR CONSTITUENTS DEMAND THAT EVERYTHING BUT WEVE THE WORUD SUDDENLY GET BETTER AT NO COSTTHE WORST AUREADY KILLED PEOPLE HoW ABoUT THE PRETTY BAD PEOPLE? BEGAN TO HUNT THE ILL LEAVE MY DISHES OUT S0 MY ROOMMATES WNLL HAVE TO DO THEM HITLERS OF 7tchk HAD TO KILL LARGER AND TO GET THE SAME AND THUS WE CANDO ALL YANKEES FANS GATHER THEM INA STADIUM AND ELECTROCUTE THEM HANE TO DIE? ITS NOT ABOUT THEM DYING ITS ABOUT THE REST OF US LIVING WElL TO AN MORE SAINTUY POPUATION HEAVENS! I FORGOT TO INCLUDE A THANKYOU CARD WHEN I GAVE AL MY SAVINGS TO CHARITY LAST, I WAS THE ONLY ONE LEFT WAS WHEN THE WAHOO W6 GOT THE WORST SPECIES TO ELUIMINATE ITSELF! GALACTIC GDP IS UP 47%! Smbc-comicscon

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About

Would You Kill Baby Hitler is a thought experiment which ponders the ethics of traveling back in time to kill Adolf Hitler as an infant in order to prevent the holocaust.

Origin

The exact origin of the thought experiment is unknown. The idea of traveling back in time to kill Adolf Hitler is a trope^[1] used in science fiction and is commonly associated with the proposed grandfather paradox.^[2] Additionally, the dilemma bears many similarities to the "trolley problem"^[4] ethical thought experiment, which asks participants if they would kill one person to save five others. In 1996, the novel Making History^[6] by Stephen Fry was released, in which the protagonist travels back in time to deliver a permanent contraceptive pill to Hitler's father. On October 2nd, 2002, Season 1 Episode 5 "Cradle of Darkness" of the science fiction television series The Twilight Zone was broadcast, in which a woman travels back in time to kill Adolf Hitler as a baby (shown below). The earliest known mention of killing Hitler as an infant online was posted in the Free Republic Forums^[5] by user DaveLoneRanger on April 18th, 2006, asking readers "Would you kill baby Hitler to prevent the extermination of millions?"

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On May 14th, 2007, YouTuber John Green uploaded a video discussing the thought experiment (shown below, left). On November 26th, 2008, YouTuber Philip DeFranco posted a video about the Hitler dilemma (shown below, right).

[This video has been removed]

On September 10th, 2010, the ModDDb Forums^[7] member PeterHat submitted a poll titled "Would You Kill Baby Hitler?" On May 31st, 2011, YouTuber David Pakman uploaded an interview segment titled "Morality with Motamedi," in which he asks co-host Louis Motamedi if he would kill Hitler as an infant (shown below, left). On July 24th, 2013, the Big Think YouTube channel uploaded a video featuring psychologist Kevin Dutton, in which he discusses the Hitler thought experiment along with other moral dilemmas (shown below, right). On September 7th, 2014, Redditor dantheman757 submitted a post about the baby Hitler dilemma to the /r/Showerthoughts^[9] subreddit, where it received upwards of 4,400 votes (94% upvoted) and 770 comments prior to being archived.

2015 Presidential Primary

On October 23rd, 2015, the NYT Mag^[3] tweet a graph depicting readers responses to a survey asking "could you kill baby Hitler?" (shown below).

On November 6th, the webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal^[8] posted a comic about the dilemma from a moral relativist perspective (shown below).

IM GOING BACK N TIME NO THE CONGE TO KILL BABY HITLER INTRODUCING POLuTIOS INTO THE PROCESS PROVED TO BE A MISTAKE. WILL BE UNPREDICOUR CONSTITUENTS DEMAND THAT EVERYTHIGBUT WEVE N THE WORLD SUODENLY Ger gETTER AT NO COST , THE WORST ALREADY KILLED How ABOUT THE PRETTY BAD PEOPLE? GAN TO HUNT THE SEMA-HITUESS_ OF μ WORLD GOP S UP 3a, HAPPNESS IS UP 66%, AND THE TOOTHBRUSH MUSTACHE IS WORN WITH PRIDE AROUND THE WORLD TUL LEAVE MY OISHES aUT HAVE TO DO THEM NE BECAME ADDICTS. HAD TO KILL LARGER AND LETS KILL STALIN to GeT THE SAME ANO THE GUY WHO FIRST PUT RAISINS STADIUM AND W CARROT CAME THEM IN A HANE TO DIE? EM ITS NOT ABOUT THEM DYING TS ABOUT THE REST oF Us LIVING wELL TO AN HIGHER GOR HIGHER HAPPINESS MORE SAINTUY AND JESUS COMES TO ISIT ON WEEKENDS! HEAVENS! I FORGOT TO NCLWDE A THANKYOU CARD WHEN I GAVE ALL MY SAVINGS TO CHARITY TLAST, I WAS THE ONLY ONE LeFT AD THE IMPALER JACK THE RIPPERI THE AIRST GUY WHO PUT RAISINS ALIENS FROM THE FUT CA WAS WHEN THE WAHOO! WE GOT GALACTI GDP IS UP 47%! THANK YOU FOR THE TIME TRAVEL PARTTHE WORST SPECIES WITH Y0UR HELP WE SHA R VOTINGTHE WORST SPECes TO ELUIMINATE CONTINuE LOOKING ITGELF!

On November 9th, The Huffington Post^[10] posted an interview with Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, during which he answered "Hell yeah, I would!" in response to the baby Hitler question (shown below, left). On the following day, YouTuber PFT Commenter uploaded footage of Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson saying "I'm not in favor of aborting anyone" when asked if he would approve of aborting baby Hitler (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References

^[1] TV Tropes – Hitlers Time Travel Exemption Act

^[2] Wikipedia – Grandfather paradox

^[3] Twitter – NYTMag

^[4] Wikipedia – Trolley problem

^[5] Free Republic – A Hitler dilemma

^[6] Wikipedia – Making History

^[7] Moddb – Would you kill baby Hitler?

^[8] SMBC-Comics – 3918

^[9] Reddit – If you went back in time and killed Hitler as a baby you would be known as the time traveler who went back in time to kill a baby

^[10] The Huffington Post – Jeb Bush on Whether Hed Kill Baby Hitler

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Would You Kill Baby Hitler

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About

Would You Kill Baby Hitler is a thought experiment which ponders the ethics of traveling back in time to kill Adolf Hitler as an infant in order to prevent the holocaust.

Origin