#2 What would you do?

[AndrésC64]

Imagine that you are in a control room and you see that an unmanned trolley is about to go down the main line of the tracks and kill five people. There is no way to contact these people to let them know. There is a switch in the control room that would switch the tracks for the trolley from the main line to an alternate line. You see that there is one person on the alternate line that would be killed if the trolly goes down the alternate line. If you do nothing five people die. If you flip the switch, one person will die. What do you do?

Updates

+1 y

Jesus Christ people, it's a hypothetical. Pretend that the five people are on a bridge or in a tunnel and that there is nowhere for them to go. The same thing goes for the one person.

[Кураж]

Do nothing.
If I don't act, those 5 people who will die are no different from the thousands of people who die every day without my input.

Moving the track however means you are directly responsible for the one's death, since it wouldn't have happened without your actions.

The death of the 5 would have happened without your actions, however.
Because someone already orchestrated circumstances in which they die, and that's who is 100% responsible for their death, not the person by the lever.

[Joker_]

Not acting is acting

[Кураж]

Well, not really.
But it is certainly a choice the same way choosing to act would be.
However choices are not at all equal from a moral standpoint.

For me the burden of making a choice in the trolley problem is not the main concern at all.
I simply think switching the lever is a conscious act of wrongdoing and is actively immoral.

The trolley problem is a case of sacrificing the few for the benefit of the many, of which the real-life examples were things such as the Atlantic slave trade or the Nazi regime.

The people who would switch the lever to kill the one person are, in my mind, equivalent to the Germans who were willing to sacrifice the Jews for the prosperity of Germany, or the Americans who were willing to enslave Black people for their own benefit.

It's always the immoral choice, the majority should simply suffer their circumstances.

[Joker_]

Ah, interesting

[Chris9087]

The worker would have a cell phone or CB radio on him.
If I'm in the control room I will radio him to go to the track where the other 5 people are.
Then it's my lunch break so unfortunately I didn't have to switch the track.

[Chris9087]

I ran out of time and couldn't help them unfortunately.

[DizzyDesii]

Unfortunately freak accidents happen. I guess 5 people will die if they dont have sense enough to get off the rumbling tracks.

[DizzyDesii]

I refuse to choose who lives or dies. I’ll let fate be

[AndrésC64]

If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

Neil Peart

[DizzyDesii]

Nahh buddy boy cause I don't know those people so whatever to em happens. Most they’ll get out of me is an “aww”

[Chikky]

That's a nasty, scenario I don't want to choose, every life is important

[AndrésC64]

If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

Neil Peart

[God_of_Thunder]

I do nothing

If six fucking people are dumb enough to stand on the train tracks, then who am I to interfere with Darwin?

Not my fault they chose to be stupid.

[D_Bone_Steak]

Few for the many... so that one guy is fucked if I'm at the switch. ... Unless I'm having a bad day and then fuck those 5 people.

[Joseph3253]

Pull the lever, kill the worker, save the other five.

[Brainsbeforebeauty]

Wouldn't the trolley have a cb, a way to contact, like city b wouldn't there be an emergency stop button or emergency brakes, though🤔

[Sonorous]

I'd switch it to the one guy. Because if he dies or not, he's the stupid one for being on the tracks. And many people would see saving many lives as the best option.

[Sonorous]

Also I wouldn't have to pretend to be as sad

[NathanDavis]

I think the worker would have more chances of survival, doing his job, knows the tracks and the risks... how to get to safety

the other might be just a Darwin Award convention

[Honesttguy]

Throw grenade on the group of people and drive over single one.

[XXblack88]

I think I would switch the trolley were it would kill one rather then killing 5.

[Deathraider]

Do nothing. I’m not obligated to save people, but I am obligated to avoid harming people. It’s a tragic situation, but I didn’t cause it.

[HighValue]

It depends. What kind of people are on each side? If the individual person on the right is wearing a red USA hat, I would save his life over the other 5.

[jshm2]

You phone the authorities, and then hold the switch half way to derail the train if nessesary

[Massageman]

Break the handle off of the switch control, and jam it between the rail and the track, causing the tram to derail before hitting anyone.

[OfDeath]

I'd switch it to the alternate line.

[Joker_]

Nothing because I don't care

[Waldoe]

save the 5 people...