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An ethics thought problem:
There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one person on the side track. You have two options: (1) Do nothing, and the trolley kills the five people on the main track. (2) Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person. Which is the correct choice?
There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one person on the side track. You have two options: (1) Do nothing, and the trolley kills the five people on the main track. (2) Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person. Which is the correct choice?
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Ethics
Ethics
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
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- Yell to the one person on the other track to get off the track.
- Pull the lever and divert the train.
- Save the day!
- Pull the lever and divert the train.
- Save the day!
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1SG (Join to see)
Ideally, we'd find a way to escape the death of anyone in the problem. But what if you can't--the one person can't hear you?
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How much work will it be for me?
http://xkcd.com/1455/
http://xkcd.com/1455/
Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).
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Capt Richard I P.
1SG (Join to see) My comment was flip to set up the misanthropic comic.
My real answer is: given no further knowledge, kill the one to save the five. Inaction is action. Changes in identities, relative values etc. may change assessment.
My real answer is: given no further knowledge, kill the one to save the five. Inaction is action. Changes in identities, relative values etc. may change assessment.
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1SG (Join to see)
I saw your response on my phone, so i didn't see the link. Would you believe it was this comic that inspired me to make the post?
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A few points to the above question.
- The correct answer depends upon what philosophy and what world view the person making the decision has.
- Skepticism. The position which questions the possibility of completely justifying any truth. Therefore any answer is the wrong answer.
- Rationalism. Emphasis on reasoning as a source of knowledge. Therefore any answer is the right answer as long as a logical thought process is followed.
- Empiricism. Emphasis on observational evidence via sensory experience over other evidence as the source of knowledge. Therefore look for other options than the two sighted.
- Ethics (concerned primarily with the question of the best way to live). Therefore choose the option that one can best live with.
- Realism (belief that some aspect of our reality is ontologically independent of our conceptual beliefs) and Logic (study of principles of correct reasoning). Better to kill one person than to allow five people to be killed.
Therefore the military answer to your question is METT-TC. It depends.
- The correct answer depends upon what philosophy and what world view the person making the decision has.
- Skepticism. The position which questions the possibility of completely justifying any truth. Therefore any answer is the wrong answer.
- Rationalism. Emphasis on reasoning as a source of knowledge. Therefore any answer is the right answer as long as a logical thought process is followed.
- Empiricism. Emphasis on observational evidence via sensory experience over other evidence as the source of knowledge. Therefore look for other options than the two sighted.
- Ethics (concerned primarily with the question of the best way to live). Therefore choose the option that one can best live with.
- Realism (belief that some aspect of our reality is ontologically independent of our conceptual beliefs) and Logic (study of principles of correct reasoning). Better to kill one person than to allow five people to be killed.
Therefore the military answer to your question is METT-TC. It depends.
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