Height of indifference

Re “Morality on a Slippery Slope,� June 1

Mark Inglis decided not to aid a climber in distress because it would have interfered with Inglis’ climb to the top of Mt. Everest. In other words, his goal was more important than the life of the man he left to die.

Discussion of Inglis’ dilemma treats it as though Inglis would have placed himself in physical peril by aiding the distressed climber. Of course had that been the case, Inglis would have been justified in passing, but it wasn’t the case. There was no moral dilemma, merely a callous indifference to human life.

JIM GORTON

Pasadena