Would you kill one to save many? [View all]

Thou shalt not kill. Right? Death is death. Murder is murder.

You know the old question. If you could go back in time and kill Hitler before he came to power, would you? I think most people, unless you are a Nazi, would say yes. It would turn you into a murderer of course but most people would be able to justify those actions to themselves.

But what about the situation where perceived future action is just guess work? How do you define many? 5, 10, 100? How many lives saved would be worth it to turn you into a murderer? Or is murder never justified?

Could you kill one to save 100 children from your home town? But would you do the same if the children lived on another continent?
What if the one was virtuous and the many were naughty?

What if the many were of a different faith construct or race from you and the one reflected your belief systems and ethnicity?
Would you kill one to save many? Maybe morally, ethically and intellectually you could justify it. But then the next question of course is, could you? Could you kill one to save many?