moral quandaries
4 05 2006Four questions, stolen from this article. I expect some feedback on this.
Question 1A 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?
My answer: I would flip the switch, assuming all six people whose fate I’m deciding upon are strangers. If the one person was a family member or friend and I didn’t know any of the five, then I’d save the person I cared about. Maybe selfish, but it is what it is.
Question 2The 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?
My answer: I’m not sure why, but I have a much harder time with the idea of pushing a man to his death than with throwing switch. I am responsible for ending one person’s life to save five lives in both situations, but there’s something about having to directly push him that makes it seem worse. Logically, I would have to say that if you throw the switch in the previous scenario, then yes, you push the fatty off in the second. I’m not sure I would/could actually do it, though.
Question 3One day, you wake up in hospital. In the nearby bed lies a world famous violinist who is connected to you with various tubes and machines.
To your horror, you discover that you have been kidnapped by the Music Appreciation Society. Aware of the maestro’s impending death, they hooked you up to the violinist.
If you stay in the hospital bed, connected to the violinist, he will be totally cured in nine months. You are unlikely to suffer harm. No one else can save him. Do you have an obligation to stay connected?
My answer: Pardon my French, but fuck that guy. No way would I sacrifice nine months of my life for that. I would, of course, sing a different tune (musical pun is unintentional) if it was someone I knew and cared about.
Question 4An enormous rock falls and blocks the exit of a cave you and five other tourists have been exploring. Fortunately, you spot a hole elsewhere and decide to let “Big Jack” out first. But Big Jack, a man of generous proportions, gets stuck in the hole. He cannot be moved and there is no other way out.
The high tide is rising and, unless you get out soon, everyone but Big Jack (whose head is sticking out of the cave) will inevitably drown. Searching through your backpack, you find a stick of dynamite. It will not move the rock, but will certainly blast Big Jack out of the hole. Big Jack, anticipating your thoughts, pleads for his life. He does not want to die, but neither do you and your four companions. Should you blast Big Jack out?
If the roles were reversed, what would you advise your trapped companions to do?
My answer: Sorry, dude, you’re getting blown up. If the roles were reversed, and I was the one blocking everyone else’s exit, I would want them to blow me up as well.
Question 1: I would definitely throw the switch - if that one person was someone I knew I would hope that I would still have it in me to flip the switch. I think I would unless it was Jarrett - he’s the only one that I would not or couldn’t sacrifice.
Question 2: No way could I push someone to there death - for some reason thinking of putting my “hands” on someone to kill them versus a switch seems more wrong.
Question 3: Yes, I would endure the 9 months to help someone live. Now that I consider myself “old”, 9 months is truly a blink of the eye and to be given the chance to save a life would be an honor, unless it was, let’s say, someone like Osama then I would have to really to think about my belief’s - I have to say that I am not that good of a person, no matter how much I want to believe that I would do the “right” thing saving a killer isn’t in my in.
Question 4: Why in the hell would I let the FAT man go first???? Was I worried that he was going to become a cannibal??? But again, no “I” couldn’t light the dynamite but I might pass it on to someone else to do the deed.
1. Yes I would flip the switch. Unless the bystandered was someone I knew whereas the five people were people I did not know. And it really would depend on who the person was because there are plenty of people I wouldn’t mind sacrificing for the greater good.
2. I would push him. No one would know but me. Would I feel good about it? Geeze no, but they used to sacrifice people for sport in ancient times, well they called it religious purposes then, but at least this would be for good reason.
3. I’m with you Chris, fuck that guy. As honoring as it may be to save a life, you never know when you are going to die. I don’t believe it would be any act of sainthood, and based on my faith (lack there of) I don’t believe that puts me in good with God. So if I got hit by a car the day after I left the hospital, I would be eternally pissed. Sorry, but life is too short.
4. I do feel slightly conflicted about blowing a guy up, but when you look at the reality of it, it’s me or him and I’m picking me. Anybody have a light??
1. I’m pretty much in agreement with everyone else on this one. I would flip the switch except if, like Moe, it was one of my kids or grandkids or one of my siblings.
2. I think “Fatty” might have to go, I’m really not sure on this one. And I would hope I’d recognize the gleam in his eye if he had the brilliant notion he was going to push ME first.
3. I believe the operative word is in the very last question: Do you have an OBLIGATION to stay connected? And my answer is NO, I in no way have an obligation to stay connected to that person.
4. Steph, I’m glad to hear you’re “slightly conflicted” about blowing someone up. That’s good to know!
I think I, just like any other human being, is going to do whatever is humanely, not humanly….HUMANELY possible, to save our own butts. The will to survive is strong in each of us and I would most likely do whatever it took to get the hell out of there.
Now, the question there is, if the roles are reversed, what would you advise your trapped companions to do? First, I’d ask them to stop calling me “Big Jack”. Would I sacrifice myself to save the others??? Hmmmm, only as a last resort. A definite yes if those other “tourist” were family or friends…..really, really, really good friends….
I tend to over analyze questions like this, but here goes.
1. I guess I would fip the switch, killing one person would be better than five.
2. I don’t think I could push someone to there death, but maybe I could trick him. I would throw a bag of cheeseburgers over in hopes that he would dive after them. Secondly, are these the same five people from the first question. In that case, I already flipped the switch and only one person is going to die. Either I push the fat guy and kill him, or I let the train switch tracks and kill the one person from the first question. Then again how did I get from the train switch to the top of the bridge so fast.
3. I’d have to give it a try, I might not last the whole nine months. Maybe he could teach me to be a world famous violinist. Maybe I would get a book or movie deal, retelling my story of incredible sacrafice, and be rich forever. That would be worth nine months.
4. This is a hard one, I guess blow him up. I mean he can’t fit through the hole, he’s gonna die anyway. Even if everyone else gets out first he is still gonna be trapped in the cave and die. If the roles were reversed everyone would live, because I’m not fat in the least bit.
I guess everyone here would, without hesitation, drop a bomb in a situation like Hiroshima. Glad to know we are all on the same side