Phil 160/Intro to Ethics
10-12-2015
You Killed My Daughter
Dennis Fitch barley survived one of the most horrific experiences a human being can, only to be put into another. After directly being responsible for saving 185 of 296 souls aboard United’s domed flight 232 in July 1989.
The Mother of one of the deceased walked up to him and pointed a finger into his chest and said “You Killed My Daughter”. Poor Fitch, he could have responded in so many different ways including no response at all. I wonder is Fitch free to deal with this situation in any way he wants?
Fitch said, “You’re right! I would gladly switch places with your daughter, I wish I died in that crash in the corn field”. Fitch chooses not to be reactive or harbor resentment towards the Women’s emotional rant. He diffuses the situation by not reacting in and emotional or angry manner. Peter
Strawson would have been proud to see him controlling his emotions and anger. Fitch knows the situation was an impossible one and that he did everything with-in his powers to save not only the life of the Women’s child, but his own. But Fitch and the Mother are strangers and thrown into an intense relationship neither ever wanted to be a part of.
*Peter Strawson’s article says: when we’re put into intense situations that involve others we have the right to react in two ways. Reactive or Objective.

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If Fitch would have just reacted with raw emotions like anger or resentment, he would have seem immediately irrational and the situation of course would have escalated because the Mother of the child that was killed would have reacted to his response. No way is she close to being objective at this most horrible time in her life. It will be quiet some time before the Mother will and can calm down. Not to mention act logical and responsible. Stawson says that we should be emotional but always work towards becoming more objective and try and take all things into consideration before loosing it so to speak. **Peter Stawson says we’re pulled toward reactive attitudes and behavior but that we should strive to move towards the traits and tools of objective behavior. We can do this by communicating and having an open mind towards learning even if that means we might be wrong. Being able to change our minds is the one thing that does make us free. Fitch agrees with the Mother. He feels her pain and knows the magnitude of the situation and takes complete responsibility for his actions or lack of them. It makes no sense but it’s the correct response at the time. He reduces her pain by agreeing with her and then he can share his grief for her loss and expresses that his life was not more valuable than her precious child’s.
I’m not so sure many people could have been so cool, calm and collected and in control of their emotions like Fitch. After all, he was going through

Blood 3 many of the same horrors himself. Multiple broken bones, crushed organs, facial destruction and buried alive for hours. He also had the guilt of all the lost souls that were in his hands and as a professional pilot this is not something that he took lightly. So being in control of himself and his emotions is exactly what Peter Strawson would say is the more appropriate approach. In time and only with time will cooler heads prevail, mourning will take place and other points of view will be realized. First the Mother will feel embarrassed and ashamed of her behavior. Realizing Fitch is a professional pilot in an impossible situation and all passengers should have perished. But because of his efforts 186 souls are still alive and their families are praising Fitch for his heroics. The same actions that the Mother said killed her child.
***Stawson says that sometimes a middle ground is taken when neither the reactive or objective course seems appropriate. In this particular situation, intense extremes were in full force.
Fitch is at a huge disadvantage of knowing nothing about the Mother.
Where-as she knows he was the pilot at the controls of the plan that crashed and killed her child. It would have been helpful if Fitch knew more about the
Mother and maybe had some common ground or shared interest so they would not be such strangers and on opposite ends of such a terrible outcome.

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I feel that Fitch’s response to the Mother was the correct one. Further proof of that is the fact that she changed her attitude towards him in time and developed a more objective view of the extreme situation they were all in.
Her changed attitude was proof that she is free as well and able to learn and adjust her way of thinking and her reactive mind.
I just wish that we could have seen and heard more about Fitch and the
Mother. Like maybe hearing from more people that were close to them and how they came to these two different reactions to the same awful event. Not to mention the journey the Mother went on to get to a more objective place and attitude in the end. Also, was there a point at which Fitch privately got upset and was not so objective but reactive and let his emotions fly? I’m curious how Fitch developed himself into such a amazing individual with such impressive self control?
I’m impressed and inspired by Peter Strawson’s views on the reactive and objective responses we have to choose from. I was even more impressed with the actual practicing of these mental powers by Fitch with his immediate use of the correct reaction to an obvious and unfair over reaction towards him in an unfortunate situation. Then, the Mother and her journey to the objective response was proof that we can all learn to be better people even in the worst of times.
I feel ashamed of some of my past behaviors in the light of this new knowledge I’ve acquired at the hands of Stawson, Fitch and this class. I’m

Blood 5 moved to correct a situation that has persisted in my life for years because of an over reaction to event between my eldest brother and myself. Although
I’ve always know what he did was terribly wrong, I never realized until now that my reaction to it was just as wrong. I like Fitch should and could have been more objective and less reactive bringing forth a better overall resolution and relationship to this day. For this acquired knowledge I sincerely thank you and hope this will make a difference in our lives. I will not forget what I have learned here and will try my best to correctly pass it on. THE END

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._F._Strawson
**Peter Stawson, Freedom and Resentment P. 75.3
***http://www.informationphilosopher.com/solutions/philosophers/strawson/