Today I will be writing about the Trolley problem. Here is a video about it.
This is a very difficult decision to make, and there are many views. I will write perspectives from three perspectives, saving 5 people by sacrificing one, sacrificing 5 but saving one or doing nothing at all.
I think if I were in this situation, I would most likely panic but save the 5 people by sacrificing the one person on the separate track. If you save the 5 people you are more likely to be viewed as a hero by the general public, and you would only have to tell one family that their family member has died as opposed to 5. I would choose this option because technically, it is not my fault that the trolley is loose. Someone is bound to die, all I am doing is changing the amount of people who will. 1 person has less family than 5 families all together so it will cause less pain overall.
Another option is to let the 5 people die and save one. Some people would be inclined to choose this as they might view flicking the switch as them murdering the one person. They are letting events happen as they are 'supposed' to. A person might believe that there is an unknown force acting and that they shouldn't toy with it, as it might harm them.
Or, you could turn around and not do anything at all. People might be too torn up, or not want any responsibility of deciding who shall live and who shall not. They don't want to live with the knowledge they could have chosen how someone would die.
28/07/2021
For all of these variations, I will be discussing them with Rieya, one of my classmates.
The Jim Carrey
The Jim Carrey trolley problem is the same, apart from all the people being Jim Carrey. The person on the separate track is Jim Carrey from his 'Dumb and Dumber' acting period, something very nostalgic for lots of people. On the track there are 5 clones of Jim Carrey.
I would let the trolley on going straight, killing the clones. I would do this because if Jim Carrey has already been cloned, he can be cloned again. Another reason is that people don't love Jim Carrey clones, they love the original, real Jim Carrey.
The Thread
In this version, there is no second track, but a fat man who is standing right by the 5 people trapped on the tracks. If you shove him onto the tracks, his body would most likely stop the trolley and save the people. You know nothing about him, only that he is on his phone composing a text message and vaping.
In this situation I think that would push the man onto the tracks in order to save the 5 people. I would do this because I don't have any connection to the man so it wouldn't be as painful to do. Also I would do this because He is standing basically on the tracks and is on his phone in a dangerous place, so he is most likely going to step onto the tracks and sustain an injury or die.
The Long Overcoat
You can't be sure, but it looks like there is a very tall person standing alone, but when you continue looking it seems as if there are two people, one sitting on the other's shoulders. Are they children? Are they trying to trick someone? Why? They're probably up to no good. But is it worth pushing them onto the tracks and getting a jail sentence?
This is a tough one, but I wouldn't push the 'children'. I chose this because the people on the track are adults and are going to die sooner than the 'children' whereas the 'children' have longer to live and are the next generation of life.
The Hitler
The man on the separate track is Adolf Hitler.
I would flick the switch to the separate track. I feel this is self-explanatory.
The Violinist
Like the overcoat scenario, there are two people standing. However this time, one of the people is a world-class violinist who has been surgically attached to another person. Whatever has happened to the two people, one of them looks sick of the violin playing, he might welcome death.
I think that I would let the train kill the 5 people, because there aren't very many people who still play violin. Also if the two people have been surgically attached, they can be separated.
The Henchman
Same problem as the original trolley problem, except the fact that you are now a mob boss who has henchmen. One of your henchmen is standing by the switch, and a simple nod will tell them to flick the switch, no nod to leave it. What will you decide?
I think that I would tell (nod) the henchmen to pull the lever, because I would be saving more people and wouldn't give me as bad of a reputation.
The Chiseled Features
The lone person on the separate track is athletic and attractive, whereas the other 5 are not. Are attractive people more worthy of life? Yes? No? It's up to you to decide and see how your decisions show what type of person you are...
I would save the 5 people by sending the trolley to the separate track. I would do this because a person might be attractive, doesn't mean they are a good person. Also, the 'ugly' people can always get plastic surgery if they want to.
The Bowling Pins
Instead of lying across the tracks, the 5 people are arranged in bowling pin formation. While still horrific, it does seem funny they are arranged like that, you just can't help hearing the 'bowling ball knocking over pins' noise in your head.
I think that I would flick the switch to the separate track, because I would feel horrible killing people who have unwillingly been arranged like bowling pins.
The Bluetooth
You know nothing about the lone man, but the 5 people are wearing Bluetooth headsets. You go to Twitter asking what you should do, but you are hit by the trolley at 64 km per hour, you never got the chance to save the people.
I think that it is unfortunate that I went on my phone to decide who I should save. If I hadn't been hit by the trolley, I would have saved the lone person, because the people shouldn't be wearing Bluetooth headsets in such a dangerous place.
Thanks for reading!
