The Trolley Problem is a test of
human ethics as they face a decision whether or not to kill one person to save
four or to let the four die. This problem is presented in two different ways,
however, the result is the same in both cases either one or four people die.
The first presentation of this includes a runaway trolley heading down a track
with four people on it destined to die from the impact of the trolley. However,
the person confronted with this problem is given the option to pull a lever
that will divert the trolley to other tracks heading toward only one person. In
this situation the majority of people would pull lever, which falls into
accordance with consequentialism or utilitarianism. The other version of this
problem is similar in that there are four people on the track in the way of the
trolley, but this time there is a bridge over the track with a man fat enough
to stop the trolley. This situation provides the same decision, kill one to
save four, but when presented with this people are hesitant to push the man and
most would not.
Why is this
the case? Based on Mill’s theory on Utilitarianism the means does not apply the
ethics, but depend on the consequence and these consequences are identical, so why
are people quick to pull the lever and hesitant to push the fat man. Perhaps it
is that consequentialism should not be the ethics that we apply to daily life.
This is possible as perhaps the ethics of our actions result in good or bad
consequences, making the means the part of the equation to be dissected as
either ethical or unethical. Our actions are decided by our morals and virtues
making Aristotle’s theory of ethics to be the way we should think ethically.
However, Mill,
might refute this objection as that even though the majority found the pushing
of the fat man in the Trolley Problem to be unethical, it is still ethical to
do so according to his theory. He would state that the majority is making an incorrect
decision, and the pushing is the ethical thing to do.
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