Will to Survive

As you read about the sinking of the Titanic, think about other stories, movies, or books in which a character (real or fictional) has to choose between saving himself or herself and saving others. How does one balance the will to survive with the urge to help others? Do you think this is a conscious choice, or do people act on instinct in an emergency situation and only think of the danger to themselves later? How do you think you would act in such a situation?

In the world, most people believe in the phrase "every man for himself." According to economics, every action of man is done in his self-interest, and in times of survival man will generally do anything it is to keep himself alive. It's a good thing that most people have a good heart and a clear conscience to be able to put others in front of themselves and help people in times of need; however, in life-or-death situations, we cannot really be sure whether we would help others or save our own necks (since in most cases when we help people, we never endanger ourselves too much for their sake).

From a young age, I was taught to never try and save a drowning person, never go into a fire to help someone, and in general never to interfere with dangerous affairs to save others that may endanger my life. The rationale behind this, I think, is reasonable; attempting to save a drowning man could potentially cause me to drown if the man was struggling, and going into a fire is plain suicide. However, if I had the necessary skill sets - for example, a lifeguard license - then rescuing people would probably be fine. I still believe that the balance between maintaining one's life and saving other people is one that is precarious, a combination of both rational thinking and acting on impulse. It's hard for me to say which one usually prevails, however I can say that sometimes people make stupid decisions to save people which cost them their lives, and at other times people are able to commit acts of heroism and, occasionally, sacrifice, where they give their lives up to save others for the greater good.

It would really depend on the situation to see what I would do. I think that if it is in anyone's power to save others, they should do so. This belief was obviously absent during the sinking of the Titanic.