Thought experiments

[qatarperegrine]

I've been having fun debating ethical thought experiments with my friends lately, and I figured I'd share the love right here on LJ.

Here's the first set of scenarios, often called the Runaway Trolley Car experiment. I'll steal the wording given in a BBC article on ethics.

1. A runaway trolley car is hurtling down a track. In its path are five people who will definitely be killed unless you, a bystander, flip a switch which will divert it on to another track, where it will kill one person. Should you flip the switch?


2. The runaway trolley car is hurtling down a track where it will kill five people. You are standing on a bridge above the track and, aware of the imminent disaster, you decide to jump on the track to block the trolley car. Although you will die, the five people will be saved.
   
   Just before your leap, you realise that you are too light to stop the trolley. Next to you, a fat man is standing on the very edge of the bridge. He would certainly block the trolley, although he would undoubtedly die from the impact. A small nudge and he would fall right onto the track below. No one would ever know. Should you push him?

So here's the major question: was your answer the same for both scenarios? And if not, why not? Can you rationally justify why the scenarios might call for different responses, even though the results (one death or five) are the same in each case?

Comments

[qatar.livejournal.com]

I suppose "fuzzy" isn't a necessary condition for "cute," though. Remember how cute those clams were when they were spitting at us, that one time Mum got clams?

[y-pestis.livejournal.com]

No, I'd blocked that out. Thanks for bringing it back up, now I'm going to have to go see a therapist...

OK, maybe alleged cruelty to molluscs isn't worth a trip to the therapist... but I'm on Kaiser so it's only $5.

The little spitting clams were very cute... I remember thinking it was an unselfconscious defense mechanism, like the way the hamsters would stand up on their hind legs and try to be still and invisible, but actually wobble quite significantly.