Yeah . . .

~B~

You could be self-sacrificing and save all six people, if you know your body will stop the trolley.

You could be self-sacrificing and save all six people, if you know your body will stop the trolley.

However your body can't stop the trolly. What do you choose?

I'd eat a can of something good, and then go all nuts and rip the trolley off the tracks and save everyone.

^that, or: Flip switch and use SUPERMEGAAWESOMEZOOMSPEED to untie the other person.

I'd say yeah, unless all of the five are serial killers.

^that, or: Flip switch and use SUPERMEGAAWESOMEZOOMSPEED to untie the other person.

We're assuming for the sake of the thought experiment that all you can do is flip or not flip the switch.

I'd say yeah, unless all of the five are serial killers.

Assume that you know nothing about the people involved.

Flip the switch multiple times to jam the train.

Flip the switch multiple times to jam the train.

 

Do you people not understand the purpose of this exercise? Am I just wasting my time here?

How strong is the rope?

How strong is the rope?

Do you people not understand the purpose of this exercise? Am I just wasting my time here?

If I know nothing about the people involved, then switch it because at least fewer people will die that way.

Yeah, I get the purpose of this exercise.

How strong is the rope?

Do you people not understand the purpose of this exercise? Am I just wasting my time here?

It's very important. If I can see it looks weak, I flip the switch to save the four, and then quickly cut the one on the other track to save him as well.

The point is to weigh their lives, not to find the fastest way to rescue them.

If I know nothing about the people involved, then switch it because at least fewer people will die that way.

 

Yeah, I get the purpose of this exercise.

Does one life have more value than several?

For example, if you believe that human life has an infinite worth, then one life is just as valuable as five. Five times infinity is still infinity.

On the flip side of the coin is nihilism. If you believe that human life has no worth, than one life is just as valuable as five. Five times zero is still zero.

How strong is the rope?

Do you people not understand the purpose of this exercise? Am I just wasting my time here?

It's very important. If I can see it looks weak, I flip the switch to save the four, and then quickly cut the one on the other track to save him as well.

This is an either-or situation. You can either flip the switch or you can choose to not flip the switch. There is no third option.

If those are the two heads on the coin, then I'm on the rim towards the infinite value side.

If you are on the infinite value side, then what you've proposed to do is wrong. Because of the infinite value of human life, it wouldn't make sense to flip the switch. As I said earlier, five times infinity is still infinity. If anything flipping the switch would be the morally wrong thing to do because you would then be actively participating in the death of a human being. However if you don't flip the switch, then you're letting things follow their natural course.

I said I'm closer to it than the nihilistic side, not that I'm on the infinite value side.

I don't do anything because the trolley stops on its own accord, because it was actually careening up a hill, but couldn't make it all the way up.

Whew.

(Hypothetical situations like this deserve ridiculous hypothetical answers, because there is never only two options.)

I said I'm closer to it than the nihilistic side, not that I'm on the infinite value side.

Just replace nihilism with infinite value and zero for infinity on the math part.

I don't do anything because the trolley stops on its own accord, because it was actually careening up a hill, but couldn't make it all the way up.

 

Whew.

 

(Hypothetical situations like this deserve ridiculous hypothetical answers, because there is never only two options.)

You don't understand the nature of the question. While I agree that there are never only two options, that's doesn't make my questions any less valid. This isn't an exercise in trying to save everyone. It's a thought experiment to help you understand what you believe and why you believe it.

There's going to be fewer people angry with me if only sacrifice one person. So yes, I would use the switch.

Problem is, there's no thought group that would actively choose to not use the switch. Nihilists, or comparable (for the purpose of this experiment) philosophies, wouldn't care, and those with more traditional beliefs would choose to save the larger number of people.

Something like this might get more interesting answers.

There's going to be fewer people angry with me if only sacrifice one person. So yes, I would use the switch.

 

Problem is, there's no thought group that would actively choose to not use the switch. Nihilists, or comparable (for the purpose of this experiment) philosophies, wouldn't care, and those with more traditional beliefs would choose to save the larger number of people.

 

Something like this might get more interesting answers.

Mere addition paradox takes too much explaining. I'm thinking about doing the fat man version of the trolley question soon as that elicits some more interesting responses.

And you'd be surprised just how many would actively choose not to hit the switch. About half of my class of forty today would have chosen not to hit the switch.

Why?