Five cave explorers were trapped in the cave, and all the water and food were used up; In order to survive, everyone agreed to draw lots to eat one person and sacrifice one to save the other four. Witmore was the initiator of this scheme, but he withdrew his opinion before the draw, but the other four insisted that it happened that Witmore was drawn. After being rescued, the four men were charged with murder.
Judge Tully's point of view contains the utilitarian thought of the famous jurist Bentham, that is, the purpose of law is to promote the "happiness and happiness" of the parties, and the so-called goodness means to increase the total amount of happiness and produce as little pain as possible; The so-called evil, on the contrary.
According to this view, the correct behavior should produce the greatest happiness for most people, minimize the pain, and even sacrifice the interests of a few people when necessary. This is Bentham's famous "principle of maximum happiness".
Therefore, from Bentham's utilitarianism, it is obvious that the right of four people to live is more obvious than the right of five people to starve to death in a cave. How should rational people choose and pursue the maximization of the overall interests of society? Therefore, from the utilitarian thought, the conclusion of performance is that the four defendants are innocent.
This is a case published in Harvard Law Review 1949 by Ron Fuller, a great jurist in the 20th century. He also invented the judgment of five justices of the Supreme Court on this case. After the case was published, it caused a sensation. Because it involves the balance between law and morality, the choice between justice and reason and other basic propositions of legal philosophy, it is known as "the largest legal fiction case in history"
Fifty years later, with the change of social situation, the jurist Saab continued Fuller's logical game. On the basis of this case, he invented The Speculation and Exploration of Nine Judges, launched a half-century dialogue on legal philosophy between two generations of judges, collected the mainstream thoughts of legal philosophy in the second half of the 20th century, and showed readers the magnificent and infinitely broad history of contemporary legal philosophy, which is one of the classic works that law school students must read.