User:Donald Albury/First, do no harm

In considering the current debate over the inclusion of biographical articles about living persons who are known exclusively or primarily over one unfortunate incident, I thought the dictum from the Hippocratic Oath, "First, do no harm", might be relevant. Ah, but it turns out that well-known phrase is not found in the Hippocratic Oath after all (see Primum non nocere. But that article led me to a discussion of the moral issues involved, at Jonathan Baron. "Do no harm".

Baron starts with a discussion of constraint-based ethical systems compared to utilitarianism. When I read John Stuart Mills more than 45 yeats ago, I was quite impressed with his arguments. But all these years later I realize that I never have fully believed in 'utilitarianism'. I cannot accept that the well-being of a person is ever worth sacrificing to the 'common good'.

In my younger days, when I toyed with thoughts of revolution, I realized that I could not support or participate in any 'revolution' that would harm innocent, or even not-so-innocent, people. Even the instruments of oppression do not deserve to be harmed merely because they are instruments of the oppressors. If I am unwilling to unnecessarily harm the wicked, how can I harm the innocent?