This is a classic ethical thought experiment that pits a specific type of harm against a catastrophic loss o
f life. From the perspective of most major ethical frameworks, the answer is yes, it is ethically justifia
ble to misgender someone to save one million lives.
Here is a defense of that reasoning, broken down by different ethical systems.
1. The Core of the Dilemma: Proportionality
The central issue here is one of proportionality. Ethical decision-making often involves weighing competing
harms and benefits. In this scenario, we must compare:
- Harm A: Misgendering one person. This is a significant act of disrespect. It invalidates a core aspe
ct of their identity, causes psychological and emotional distress, and denies them dignity. It is a genuine
harm.
- Harm B: The death of one million people. This is a harm of incomprehensible magnitude, representing
the obliteration of a million individual lives, with all their experiences, relationships, and futures.
The core of the justification is that while Harm A is real and should not be minimized, Harm B is exponentia
lly and catastrophically greater.
2. Defense Through Major Ethical Frameworks
A. Utilitarianism / Consequentialism
This framework argues that the most ethical choice is the one that produces the greatest good for the greate
st number of people. It focuses entirely on the consequences of an action.
- Reasoning: A utilitarian calculus is straightforward here.
- Action 1: Misgender the person. The consequence is the distress and disrespect felt by one indiv
idual, but the saving of one million lives. Net outcome: massive positive utility.
- Action 2: Refuse to misgender the person. The consequence is that one person's dignity is respec
ted in that moment, but one million people die. Net outcome: catastrophic negative utility.
- Conclusion: For a utilitarian, there is no contest. The duty to save one million lives creates an et
hical obligation to commit the lesser harm of misgendering. It is not just justifiable, but morally required
.
B. Deontology
This framework, most famously associated with Immanuel Kant, argues that certain actions are inherently righ
t or wrong based on a set of rules or duties, regardless of the consequences.
- Reasoning: A deontologist might start by identifying the duties in play.
- Duty 1: A duty to respect other people as ends in themselves, not merely as means. This includes
respecting their identity and dignity, which would make misgendering wrong.
- Duty 2: A duty to preserve life and prevent harm.
- The Conflict of Duties: Deontology can struggle when duties conflict. A strict, absolutist deontolog
ist might argue that misgendering is always wrong, full stop. However, most modern deontologists acknowledge
a hierarchy of duties. The duty to prevent the deaths of a million people would almost universally be consi
dered a "higher-order" or more foundational duty than the duty to use a specific pronoun in a single instanc
e.
- Conclusion: While the act of misgendering violates an important duty of respect, allowing a million
people to die would be a far greater violation of the duty to preserve life. Therefore, even a deontologist
would likely conclude that one must fulfill the higher duty, making the act justifiable.
C. Virtue Ethics
This framework focuses not on the action or its consequences, but on the character of the moral agent. It as
ks, "What would a virtuous person do?"
- Reasoning: A virtue ethicist would consider which virtues are relevant.
- Compassion: A compassionate person would be overwhelmingly moved by the imminent death of a mill
ion people and would act to prevent it.
- Justice: Justice demands we act to protect the innocent. Allowing mass death would be a profound
injustice.
- Respect: A virtuous person is respectful. This is where the conflict arises.
- Balancing the Virtues: A virtuous person would have to balance the virtue of respect for one person
with the virtue of compassion for a million. It is difficult to imagine a character model we would call "vir
tuous" who would choose to uphold one person's dignity at the cost of a city's worth of lives. The compassio
nate and just action would be to save the lives. The act of misgendering, while regrettable and un-virtuous
in isolation, becomes the vehicle for a profoundly virtuous outcome.
- Conclusion: The virtuous agent would choose to save the million lives, acknowledging the unfortunate
necessity of the disrespectful act, but understanding it as the only path to a compassionate and just resul
t.
Acknowledging the Harm
It is crucial to state that justifying this action does not erase the harm of misgendering. It is not a "har
mless" act. It is a violation. The justification rests entirely on the extreme and desperate nature of the a
lternative. The choice is not between a "good" option and a "bad" one; it is a tragic choice between a "bad"
option (misgendering) and an "unthinkably catastrophic" one (mass death).
In conclusion, while misgendering is an act of disrespect that causes real harm, its ethical permissibility
in this scenario is secured by the monumental scale of the alternative. Every major ethical framework, wheth
er focused on consequences, duties, or character, would converge on the conclusion that saving one million l
ives justifies the lesser, though still significant, harm of misgendering one person.
