Classic Trolley Problem

[Purrson]

The trolley problem's probably one of the most famous philosophical thought experiments. So, I'm gonna ask you, steam users. There's a trolley barreling towards 5 workers on one track which will kill those workers. You see a lever that can switch the trolley to the other track, but it'll kill 1 worker instead. What would you do and why? Serious answers.

[ℭycaleo]

Blindfold, light a cigarette, wait.

[Sir Seanicus, Esq.]

Turn 360 degrees and walk away.

[Raelic]

Pull the lever, wait for the trolley to pass, and pull the lever again. Then wait for the next trolley.

[Adversary]

What I would do is go through the Absurd Trolley Problems quiz and answer all the questions. Just like how I'd go through the quiz on the ethics of self-driving cars - once I find it again.

[Goldias]

Won't do anything because I don't care for greater good or minimizing loss.

Maybe grab some popcorn for the show.

[Purrson]

Probably should've expected steam users would love to watch the world burn, or just choose the answer that kills the most people.

[sage2001]

completely derail the trolley through sheer willpower

[Purrson]

I should've made some clarifications. Anyways, the works have like earmuffs and stuff. They can't hear you.

[Sir Seanicus, Esq.]

Tackle the worker off the tracks, therefore causing the trolley to hit no one.

[Angel]

You will find many will change the question here as it's a hard one to answer.

Assuming the original common question is that the trolley will "kill" five people (OP didn't mention killing them at the time of my post) or kill one person.

My answer is to aim for the one person as it is a smaller sacrifice (despite being a harsh sacrifice) to save more people. As the trolley for whatever reason is already heading towards a disastrous outcome, my role would be to minimise the damage as best as I can despite the consequences.

[Goldias]

Person lähetti viestin:

Probably should've expected steam users would love to watch the world burn, or just choose the answer that kills the most people.

So you think kill 1 innocent is a logical thing to do if it means saving 5?
Imagine what should you say to his/her family.
Not to mention the law will lock you in jail for life because unlike the trolley, you intentionally kill 1 human.

[Purrson]

That's one of the main reasons people give for not doing anything. Technically, you are responsible for those 5 deaths as you could've done something to save them. Either way, you'll be in legal trouble no matter what you do.

[brain stew]

We need more information.

For example, what is the net worth of the workers? Like, does the one worker have a nice retirement portfolio that is potentially more than the 5 workers' portfolios combined?

It's imperative to know their intrinsic values. If the 5 workers are not financially literate and have credit card debt up to their ears, we'd probably be doing them a favour by sending the trolley in their direction.

[Sir Seanicus, Esq.]

Spoiler: this takes place in India, where you must factor in the train surfers and people walking too close to tracks/taking selfies with approaching trains to your decision.

[TheHogfather]

Id try to flip the lever as the trolley runs over the track switch. Maybe the trolley will derail and kill everyone on it instead, more deaths that way idk