The point is that you could have if circumstances beyond your control were different.
The concept of "moral luck" is about people having drastically different moral outcomes for similar actions, mostly due to getting unlucky.
E.g. most people who own a cell phone and drive cars have probably broken the laws stating that you shouldn't operate your cellphone without using the appropriate hands-free equipment.
I certainly have at least. I know I shouldn't do it, and I can truthfully say it's not a thing I "do". I know about the dangers involved. But has it happened? Yes, and I'm not proud of it.
But nothing's bad has ever happened to me as a result, but there's some person somewhere where the first time they looked at their cellphone beeping the driver's seat they drove over someone and killed them.
Can we say that I'm a better person because that hasn't happened to me? I don't think so, I just happen to have good moral luck (so far).
I understand what you're talking about. As I said, I've broken traffic laws, but never in an unsafe manner that relied on luck not to kill three people. I reject your binary "if you broke any laws, you were equally likely to kill someone". I've observed my surroundings and took what I considered to be safe actions. I also try to apologize when I make mistakes.
I don't feel that the person took appropriate care in the way a reasonable person did. But the article was unclear. Why don't you react by citing the specifics instead of doubling down on the bigger general point, since I disagree that it was moral luck in this case, not with the concept.
I don't believe for a millisecond no mistake you've ever made couldn't have had a drastically different outcome. This notion you seem to have that you are completely aware of every variable in every situation you've ever been in is absurd.
I've never claimed I never made a mistake that couldn't have had a drastically different outcome. But I don't believe I've ever driven in a way that could have killed 3 pedestrians without some aspect of the vehicle failing. I've repeatedly asked for details of the "totally relatable because we all do it" accident.
But yes, I've avoided failures through luck. That's just a different failure state. I admit that moral luck it totally a thing (although I am using the other poster's phrasing, not familiar with that term.) And certainly I've avoided car accidents like that. But not hitting pedestrians.
The concept of "moral luck" is about people having drastically different moral outcomes for similar actions, mostly due to getting unlucky.
E.g. most people who own a cell phone and drive cars have probably broken the laws stating that you shouldn't operate your cellphone without using the appropriate hands-free equipment.
I certainly have at least. I know I shouldn't do it, and I can truthfully say it's not a thing I "do". I know about the dangers involved. But has it happened? Yes, and I'm not proud of it.
But nothing's bad has ever happened to me as a result, but there's some person somewhere where the first time they looked at their cellphone beeping the driver's seat they drove over someone and killed them.
Can we say that I'm a better person because that hasn't happened to me? I don't think so, I just happen to have good moral luck (so far).