Another use of false hypothesis is where we decide on the right course of action by considering what somebody whose moral character we admire would probably do if placed in our position, e.g., some evangelical Christians claim to solve moral problems by considering: "What would Jesus do?" No special logical difficulty is involved here, and the method is simply of the following type: I cannot see by direct inspection or by reasoning what is the right course of action here. I can be sure that if Jesus were in my situation His action would be the right one, and I am well enough acquainted with the character of Jesus to be tolerably certain what course of action He would take. I shall therefore be safe in following that course of action. Whatever we may think of the practicability of such a method, there is nothing recondite in it; it is of the same logical type as looking up a recipe in cookery book fortified by the knowledge that Mrs. Beeton was a better cook than I am.
(C. D. Broad, "On the Function of False Hypotheses in Ethics," The International Journal of Ethics 26 [April 1916]: 377-97, at 380-1)
Note from KBJ: I ask a different question: "What would Ozzy do?"
