Random Friday question

We can speculate about that question, but the tire hits the pavement if and only if we face a question for which that level of sacrifice is asked.

Yes, one can give one's life, (and without necessarily dying), to participate in a cause at varying levels of commitment. Most of us participate at some level in worthy causes, but I suspect you are driving at the question of the big cause/event, which committed to, will likely or certainly result in my immediate or near-immediate death.

Would I step in front of a bus to save a child?

That depends. The immediate reaction is to jump in and try and save the child. Many people would do that. If there is time for reflection before action however, the number of people who would jump in front changes, and the level to which they will try to mitigate the risk of their own death enters into the equation, even if it reduces the chances of saving the child. Also note, that events which will lead to death or serious injury of the child in front of you unless you immediately intervene draw more powerfully and effectively on a person to become engaged than do more distant or abstract threats. For example many children will suffer and die without a sufficient level of access to medical services, and a number of people who would risk their lives to get a child out of the way of an oncoming bus will not pay a few more dollars in taxes to provide a basic level of medical coverage that would stop the death and suffering of children. This shows that as soon as death and suffering can be abstracted, our reactions to a threat to another person are less altruistic. At the immediate and instinctive level, people can be very brave and self-sacrificing. It is much tougher when we have the luxury of reflection and the causes are not proximate to the event in a clear and obvious way. You may not give 20.00 to a charity that bangs at your door as readily as you would risk or sacrifice your life as an event unfolds in front of you.

If we haven't seen the folly of giving one's life for a fanatic cause in these opening years of the 21st century, we will absolutely, positively never learn that lesson.

On the other hand, a family member or close friend in mortal danger? In a heartbeat.

The Exxon Valdez.