Program for July 17, 2011
THE TROLLEY PROBLEM — SHOULD WE KILL TO SAVE?
Problem 1: Switching to save
The trolley problem is an imaginary scenario that is widely used in discussions on ethics, and it was first introduced by Philippa Foot, a British philosopher.
The problem is illustrated in the figure above. There is a trolley coming in at high speed, directly down the track where five people are tied. If there's no intervention, the trolley would certainly kill these five people. However, it is possible to divert the trolley to an alternative track using a switch. The problem is that there is also another person tied to that track. If you're at the switch, would you divert the trolley to kill one person instead of five?
Problem 2: Pushing to save
"The fat man" version of the trolley problem is illustrated above. In this version, you're on an overpass, and standing next to you is a fat man. It is possible to push the fat man over the overpass and his heavy weight would stop the trolley. Would you push the fat man to save five other people?
Discussion Question
- Do you think that the two versions of the trolley problem are essentially the same?
- Why do you think that we are more reluctant to act in "the fat man" version?
- Would your action change if "the fat man" is: (a) your father, or (b) a convict, or (c) a very old person?
Vocabulary
- ethic (noun):
- đạo đức, đạo đức học
- trolley (noun):
- Xe đẩy dùng để mua hàng trong siêu thị. Xe đẩy chạy trên đường ray để chở đồ nặng.
- divert (verb):
- chuyển hướng, làm chệch hướng
- intervene (verb), intervention (noun):
- can thiệp, một sự can thiệp