a question from a psychological study that facinated me. It's got 2 parts, but we'll get to part 2 later.
question: you realise that a runaway tram is going to hit & kill 5 people. You are next to a switch that will divert the course of a tram so that it will go a down different track and only hit one person.
There's no trick to this, or any other option - do you let the 5 die or change the tram's course and let 1 die?
I'll post part 2 after a few people have answered
Originally posted by belgianfreakI'd go for the painfuly obvious answer of slaughtering 1 numpty.... so what's the catch?
a question from a psychological study that facinated me. It's got 2 parts, but we'll get to part 2 later.
question: you realise that a runaway tram is going to hit & kill 5 people. You are next to a switch that will divert the course of a tram so that it will go a down different track and only hit one person.
There's no trick to this, or any othe ...[text shortened]... hange the tram's course and let 1 die?
I'll post part 2 after a few people have answered
Originally posted by belgianfreakLet 1 die would seem to be the obvious answer.
a question from a psychological study that facinated me. It's got 2 parts, but we'll get to part 2 later.
question: you realise that a runaway tram is going to hit & kill 5 people. You are next to a switch that will divert the course of a tram so that it will go a down different track and only hit one person.
There's no trick to this, or any othe ...[text shortened]... hange the tram's course and let 1 die?
I'll post part 2 after a few people have answered
1 edit
Originally posted by belgianfreakAdjusting the course would make me responsible for murdering a person. Failing to do so would probably be manslaughter of 5 (which I might even get off), I'd rather be jailed for the lesser time I think.
a question from a psychological study that facinated me. It's got 2 parts, but we'll get to part 2 later.
question: you realise that a runaway tram is going to hit & kill 5 people. You are next to a switch that will divert the course of a tram so that it will go a down different track and only hit one person.
There's no trick to this, or any othe ...[text shortened]... hange the tram's course and let 1 die?
I'll post part 2 after a few people have answered
Originally posted by belgianfreakIs this one single person going to be myself by any chance? SO the argument goes from 5 people being more important than one, unless the one is the self?
a question from a psychological study that facinated me. It's got 2 parts, but we'll get to part 2 later.
question: you realise that a runaway tram is going to hit & kill 5 people. You are next to a switch that will divert the course of a tram so that it will go a down different track and only hit one person.
There's no trick to this, or any othe ...[text shortened]... hange the tram's course and let 1 die?
I'll post part 2 after a few people have answered
Originally posted by belgianfreakIf you're removing all extraneous factors, a simple utilitarianist view suggests I'd save the 5.
nope - the one person isn't yourself, and you won't get prosecuted for your actions. Simply would you chose to let 5 strangers die or change the course of events and cause the one person to die?
Originally posted by belgianfreakWell the more the merrier I say. Two dismembered bodies are better than one! 😛
nope - the one person isn't yourself, and you won't get prosecuted for your actions. Simply would you chose to let 5 strangers die or change the course of events and cause the one person to die?
On a more serious note. I would divert the train I think. I would have something in the back of my head tellingme that I was playing God, but I'm pretty sure that I would go for damage limitation and masacre the loner.:'(
Originally posted by belgianfreakDepends if I know any of them.
a question from a psychological study that facinated me. It's got 2 parts, but we'll get to part 2 later.
question: you realise that a runaway tram is going to hit & kill 5 people. You are next to a switch that will divert the course of a tram so that it will go a down different track and only hit one person.
There's no trick to this, or any othe ...[text shortened]... hange the tram's course and let 1 die?
I'll post part 2 after a few people have answered
I'd let it run and kill the 5. As I understand it, the 5 would be hit under any circumstances, regardless of my presence, so my consience is clear if the 5 die, whereas if 1 dies, I've actively killed xym. I don't think that saving 4 lives would make me feel any better about this, while allowing 5 to die who would die regardless of my presence would only be marginally more upsetting than reading about it in the newspaper.