Hmmm… whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them ? Tough to answer… One of the disadvantages of being a rational being is that one has to give rational answers. But here is a shot:
My approach of the problem saw the consequences emerging from the newly acquired condition of the man you are talking about, Polemarchus (note that I am referring to the man behind the question, the man who literally has the box in his hand, who can push the button at any moment, who is conscious of the power he has and who can’t stop hinking of his it most for of the time - that is, who is faced with the stringent, every actual dilemma : to push or not to push) :
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in the moment that this man becomes aware of his authority over life as a generality on Earth, then a shift of absolutes is produced: life as an implicit attribute is stripped of its absolute value and embraces a subjectively relative clad; being able to objectively control the fate of
humanity with the flick of a switch, somewhat like the mythological Atropos - the fate who cut the thread or web of life, bestows a certain omnipotence in relation to the absolute of every man’s life, which is life itself;
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along with the absolute value of life, any absolute norm of morality or ethics can be easily thrown out the window, as construed concepts like this have an objective value only alongside the objective absolute value of life;
3.with the fall of other absolutes, the sole absolute worth mentioning becomes the affirmation of the subject’s free will in what concerns the box;
- with the institution of the box, any special desire or expectation that the man might expect from life becomes absolutely meaningless and void of any importance; not being gratified his expectations, the subject, being aware of their relativeness, could in extremis push the button, in a fit of frustration… but that would lead to his death with the others as well, which would be quite useless to the case, his will being nullified along with the others, in his case leaving us with nothing to talk about; the point is that any special want that the man might have, involving sensual or hedonistic pleasures, is irrelevant to the whole issue and cannot be a decisive factor in the decision to push or not to push the button.
Now the first three consequences assure that the man has unexpectedly gained some sort of supreme power over his peers’ lives, while the fourth implies a certain liberty of indifference. This leads easily to the conclusion that, in his newly acquired condition, the subject supplements, in a way, the role of God in reference to the other people on the planet. It’s easily seen and that having authority over human life on Earth renders you the Lord of this world, as life is what people cherish the most and is the implict factor of their being here in the first place.
Furthermore, the fact that, given his human nature, the man has the capability of understanding human reason and is interested in it (he is concerned with finding rational answers to his problem), although he has the power to refute any rational demarche brought against him, confirms even more his God-like position. To listen and comprehend human rationality when speaking, but to choose and have the power to not be affected by it in any way is truly a divine attribute.
In such conditions, the silent armagheddon in a box appears to be inevitable. And indeed, it is. Were someone to freely possess such a weapon, doomsday would just be a matter of time - who can read into another’s mind and predict his thoughts ? Who can say when (s)he will push the button ? Who can stop it happening and, most importantly, how can we stop it happening ?..
Since imminent death is just waiting to come round the corner, the only solution against it would be to try to prolongue the outcome as much as possible, preferably for an indefinite amount of time. As I’ve shown earlier that rational retorts might as well be inefficient, the only path is undoubtedly through the emotional passage, by arousing feelings of affection or sympathy, because the capacity to feel is easily present in all people. And, as it is perfectly natural to respond positively and to find gladness in emotionally touching behaviours, these might just be the touch needed. Things like kindness, beauty, love, bravery - ultimately, acts of virtue - could sensitize him and keep his hand away from the infamous button, the world being redeemed through beauty, as Dostoyevsky thought. The world need not know that such a powerful man exists among them, nor should they feel obligated to act as if someone like this existed, les their actions turned into a weak pageantry. But when one is able to be a spectator to unforced acts of honesty, tenderness, tenacity or creativity, is this not a strong reminder that maybe these are the things that make the world worth leaving it be ?
The sole fact that one can find -without necessarily looking for them - nice, heart-warming things only by looking out the window could be enough of a reason, even though not a rational one, for him to not refute it.
So now tell me, Polemarchus, should I say farewell to my friends ?..
