Interesting perspective. Even if I returned the ladder to the owner as compensation, that still wouldn't make him whole again so to speak, would it?
However, neither of us know if the owner had any of his kids in the building. Really adds a consequentialist spin to this whole scenario when you think about it.
Exactly - you get it. The NAP purists miss that we're operating with incomplete information in crisis situations. You can't know if ladder guy has his own kid trapped somewhere else, or if he's the local fire chief who knows exactly where to deploy resources.
The "I'll return it later" argument is also weak sauce. What if the ladder breaks during your rescue? What if those crucial minutes you took it cost someone else their life?
Real world ethics isn't a philosophy textbook. Sometimes every choice violates someone's rights. The question isn't whether you violated the NAP - you did. It's whether you can live with the consequences of your choice vs the alternative.
I suppose in a post-government or privatized society, the solution would be reducing the risk of a fire from occurring in the first place to also reduce the number of NAP violations (and of course the number of injuries and deaths as well).
nah if the kiddo was still inside when someone snagged the ladder, that ladder owner already failed - decisive action was needed *before* the emergency hit.
the real calculation problem here is the info gap: neither of us can know if that ladder was actually prepped for nephew-saving, or just sitting there gathering rust. markets solve this by rewarding rapid response over speculative hoarding.
returning the ladder after it saved a life? that's like paying back a repossessed gun after the revolution. the timeline matters.
Even when in reality you couldnt know for sure, if in this scenario there was only 1 life to be saved (my nephew), I would likely steal the ladder and use it because of personal preference of my nephews life compared to the damage caused. In the aftermath I would be liable for the damages caused and regard it as a fee for not being prepared with my own ladder. The motives of the owner of the ladder might have been righteous themselves as he was wisely preparing to save his own peers because of the high fire risk in the area for instance and at the same time he has a disregard for your people.
