If a Trolley Was About to Hit a Large Group of People

[Nebulous]

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If a Trolley Was About to Hit a Large Group of People, and You Could Divert the Trolley’s Course to Hit Only One Person, Would You?

You’ve likely come across the trolley problem before. It’s gone from being a thought experiment to a meme, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still pack a philosophical punch to the cranium.

 

[Ammi]

…what’s in the trolley…?…if it’s filled with chocolate then maybe I’ll divert it to myself, I could take a chocolate hit…

 

[ElegantAura]

I can turn the trolley to hit me if this can count .

 

[cowcatcher]

Pull out my phone and sell the video to the highest bidder.
UNLESS I get to choose the person it hits if I divert it.
😂

 

[Dee]

My initial thought would not be to have it hit anyone. I would do my best to get the groups attention and have them disperse.

 

[The Raven]

I would do nothing because things are going the way they are supposed to happen. I should not alter that. But, sometimes I think it would be better to chose "lesser evil". One life is nothing compared to 20 of them. Yes, that life means a lot to family and relatives but imagine how much 20 lives means to family and relatives. Hard choice to make.

 

[Ammi]

....obviously these moral dilemmas are dilemmas for a reason…if none of the lives involved have any personal meaning/attachment to the person considering the dilemma then logic would be a huge factor …but if that one life was a loved one…a son/daughter/grandchild/husband/wife/parent/sibling etc …? …then emotion becomes the bigger factor…and does age factor as well in that if it was a baby/small child at the beginning of their lives and the 20 were very elderly and had lived full lives…?…these dilemmas are very layered ….