Thought-Experiments

A runaway trolley speeds toward five people tied to the tracks. You can pull a lever to divert it onto a side track, where it will kill one person instead of five. Do you pull the lever? Most people say yes. Save five lives by sacrificing one. The math seems obvious. But here’s the twist. Same setup, except this time you’re on a bridge above the tracks with a large stranger....

People roll their eyes at the trolley problem. Five people tied to tracks, runaway trolley, you can pull a lever to divert it but then it kills one person instead. Who designs these scenarios? But here’s the thing: you already solved trolley problems today. You drove past someone walking in the rain instead of stopping. You bought coffee instead of donating that money. You chose to read this instead of calling a friend who’s been lonely....