Scribd
Upload
1K views2 pages

The Trolley Problem

The document discusses the author's perspective on the trolley problem. The author feels unable to choose an option that would result in death. While objectively the option with the fewest deaths seems best, weighing human lives against each other feels wrong. The author believes the most moral choice is to not intervene. The author would sacrifice themselves to save others but not sacrifice another. Including loved ones would cloud their moral judgment. Overall, the author dislikes the trolley problem and feels it has no true moral solution.

Uploaded by

fabulousfibonacci
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
1K views2 pages

The Trolley Problem

The document discusses the author's perspective on the trolley problem. The author feels unable to choose an option that would result in death. While objectively the option with the fewest deaths seems best, weighing human lives against each other feels wrong. The author believes the most moral choice is to not intervene. The author would sacrifice themselves to save others but not sacrifice another. Including loved ones would cloud their moral judgment. Overall, the author dislikes the trolley problem and feels it has no true moral solution.

Uploaded by

fabulousfibonacci
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Anastasia Moreo

Ethics & Moral Problems

Prof. Melara

13 June 2019

The Trolley Problem

I have contemplated the Trolley Problem many times on my own, with friends and

family, and in other philosophy classes, and I have never once been able to answer it while

feeling morally good about whatever choice I would hypothetically make. 

Objectively speaking, if you remove the concept of human life from the equation and

made it about something inanimate, like couches or cars, it would clearly make the most sense

to switch the oncoming trolley to the track with the least amount of objects in the way, and since

1 is less than 5, I would switch the tracks. However, taking into consideration human life, this

problem becomes more difficult to assess. Who am I to weigh one human life against another?

We are all of the same flesh and blood, thought and emotion, so who is really to say that five

lives stack up more against one when any loss of life is a tragedy in and of itself? I personally

feel that the most "moral" thing to do, given my limited options, is to not intervene at all. Why

am I even at the trolley in the first place to observe this sickening experiment? I don't know if I

would be able to switch the tracks or intervene in any way, because if I do so, then I am

responsible for someone else's death no matter what I choose. Whereas, if I choose to do nothing,

the blame is not mine to bear, as it was not me who tied down these people to the tracks.

Regardless of what track I would choose, I would still be wrong as it would result in death. 

This same idea is present with the throwing of "a fat man" onto the tracks. I could not

knowingly kill someone even if it would stop the tracks and save the six other people. Why is
there not an option where I free everyone from their bonds before the trolley arrives, thus saving

every person? That is the only true moral solution, in my opinion. That being said, my innate

biological sense of altruism makes the contemplation of sacrificing myself to save others more

tolerable of an idea. While suicide is morally wrong, and under any other circumstances I would

never even contemplate it, as it is the loss of life, I feel that in this scenario, if it would save

everyone else, I would not hesitate to sacrifice myself to save others. I am the only one who is

responsible for my own actions, and I cannot expect anyone else to sacrifice themselves in this

position, as it is not their cross to carry. Therefore, I think that if sacrificing myself was the only

way to save others, then I would do so, but sacrificing anyone else is not an option. 

Finally, the inclusion of my loved ones in this conundrum would definitely complicate

matters. My moral judgment would ultimately be clouded by my love for my family members,

and if self-sacrifice was not an option, I would most likely save those I know and love over those

who are strangers to me. Ultimately I hate this entire concept, and I feel there is no true moral

solution to this problem and therefore it cannot be solved, but that is just my humble opinion. 

You might also like