PHL370H5 Lecture 7: PHL370 S2 L7
Document Summary
Yes, they"re both linked to their voluntary action but the driver is posing a threat to the pedestrian whereas a pedestrian isn"t posing a threat to someone in a car. The mere fact that one person is posing a threat doesn"t justify the other using violence. If you put yourself in harms way, you shouldn"t have the right to use force for defence. Mcmahan says theres a difference because the driver is posing an unjustified threat of harm to the other. Lazar wants to claim that there is no non-begging question to mcmahan"s argument. He says that we are imagining a case where the car gears towards the pedestrian and the pedestrian throws the grenade. Our question is if this action was justified. It"s only if we assume the threat posed by the pedestrian is justified to say there is any asymmetry between them. You only get the conclusion mcmahan wants only by assuming the conclusion in advance.
