Is There A Right Answer To The Trolley Problem?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Omid Panahi finds that finding a solution is not the problem. The Trolley Problem is a thought experiment first devised by the Oxford moral philosopher Philippa Foot in 1967. … George knows that the only

way to stop an out-of-control trolley is to drop a very heavy weight into its path

.

How does Kant respond to Trolley Problem?

Trolley Problem Under Kantianism

Now that we’ve been roughly introduced to Kant’s moral philosophy, we can examine what a Kantist would do when faced with the trolley problem. … The simple answer is that

Kantianism does not allow for the pushing of the lever; you shouldn’t kill one to save five.

What your answer to the Trolley Problem says about you?

In the Trolley Problem, a train is hurtling down the tracks towards five men stuck in its path. … The utilitarian answer is that

the moral decision is to sacrifice the heavyweight man, because you’d still be killing one to save five

.

Should you pull the lever in the Trolley Problem?

The Trolley Problem: In Defence Of Doing Nothing

If you pull the lever,

you’re causing the death of the one person

. Causing people to die seems like killing. And killing people is wrong. Ergo, we shouldn’t pull the lever.

What does the trolley problem teach us?

The trolley problem is

a question of human morality

, and an example of a philosophical view called consequentialism. This view says that morality is defined by the consequences of an action, and that the consequences are all that matter. … It’s a question of human morality.

Is the trolley problem realistic?

The trolley problem is designed to be moral thought experiment, but

it could get very real in the very near future

. This time, it won’t be a human at the controls, but your autonomous vehicle.

How would a Deontologist handle the Trolley Problem?

A deontologist would further argue that

killing

is never acceptable — it would be immoral to pull the lever to kill on (in the above case pulling the lever would be considered actively killing the person) , even if that meant allowing the trolley to continue on its course to kill 100 people.

What is Kant’s universal law?

Kant calls this the formula of universal law. … The formula of universal law therefore says that

you should should only act for those reasons which have the following characteristic

: you can act for that reason while at the same time willing that it be a universal law that everyone adopt that reason for acting.

What do you do in a Trolley Problem?

  • Do nothing, in which case the trolley will kill the five people on the main track.
  • Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person.

Who made the Trolley Problem?


English philosopher Philippa Foot

is credited with introducing this version of the trolley problem in 1967, though another philosopher, Judith Thomson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is credited with coining the term trolley problem.

What question does the Trolley Problem raise?

To the wider world, and perhaps especially to undergraduate philosophy students, she is best known for inventing the Trolley Problem, which raises the

question of why it seems permissible to steer a trolley aimed at five people toward one person while it seems impermissible to do something such as killing one healthy

Is the Trolley Problem an ethical dilemma?

The “Trolley Dilemma’ is

an ethical thought experiment

where there is a runaway trolley moving down railway tracks. In its path, there are five people tied up and unable to move and the trolley is heading straight for them.

Where does the trolley problem come from?

The “trolley problem” is generally believed to have been

invented by an English philosopher by the name of Philippa Foot

. She was born in 1920 and taught for many years at Oxford. The trolley problem was further developed and made popular by another woman philosopher, Judith Jarvis Thomson, who teaches at M. I. T.

What is an example of Kant’s universal law?

An example from the first set of cases is

the maxim to promise falsely to repay a loan

, in order to get money easily: If this maxim were a universal law, then promises to repay, made by those requesting loans, would not be believed, and one could not get easy money by promising falsely to repay.

What is Kant’s philosophy?

His moral philosophy is a

philosophy of freedom

. Without human freedom, thought Kant, moral appraisal and moral responsibility would be impossible. Kant believes that if a person could not act otherwise, then his or her act can have no moral worth.

What would Kant advise XYZ to do explain?

What would Kant advise XYZ to do? Explain. Answer: Kant would

have asked XYZ to put duty first, act rationally, and give moral weight to the inherent equality of all human beings

. He would have wanted XYZ to judge if whatever it did was universally acceptable.

David Evans
Author
David Evans
David is a seasoned automotive enthusiast. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering and has a passion for all things related to cars and vehicles. With his extensive knowledge of cars and other vehicles, David is an authority in the industry.