Sprinkled throughout And All is Always Now, are scenarios in which, in different formats and with different individuals, there are questions as to whether or not we should always come to the help of someone in need.
Here is the first scenario:
A man we care very much about is in a highly dangerous situation. Should he try to escape as swiftly as he can, or should he, having noticed a pregnant woman who is rigid with fear, stop his own flight and escort her out of danger? The pregnant woman is a stranger to him, so he has no prior obligation to her. But even so, should he help her not only because this is a case of two lives at stake rather than one, but also because he can tell she is paralyzed and without help to escape, she will surely die? Time is of the essence, as the danger is imminent, immense, horrifying and absolute. He must decide immediately.
Perhaps he should consider that he has no obligation to be a hero. After all, everyone else is ignoring the weak in the general stampede to save his or her own skin. Why should he be different? Furthermore, if he is to think about obligations, couldn't he reason that he indeed has an obligation not only to himself but also to his loved ones? Because, if he stops to help this pregnant woman, she will surely slow his escape and perhaps they might both perish. What would the ethical thing be for him to do? And do we even have time to consider ethics in the general panic of an emergency?
Here is the second scenario:
A woman, who deeply and completely loves a man, received some information that a future event, to which he will travel, will be exceptionally dangerous, even life-threatening. This, however, is an event that he very much wants to attend, and also her information on the future event might well be unreliable. An added complication is that if she tells him, he might interpret it as her way of trying to prevent him from going, as before receiving this information about the danger, she had already expressed her sadness about them being far apart. Should she tell him of the possible future danger or not?
And here is the third scenario:
A young woman has defied her mother and secretly run off to see her forbidden lover. A highly ferocious dog rushes towards them, and the lover runs off quickly, leaving the young woman unprotected, and the dog savagely attacks her. By fleeing, had the lover behaved in a completely cowardly fashion, or might there have been viable justifications for his desertion?