Question: who are the five tied to the railroad track. If the five are politicians, those five can start a filibuster that could bring a freight train to a screeching stop with room to spare.
Reminds me of this safety quiz in READER’S DIGEST. You’re driving along at night and you see a car with a lot of people stalled at a level crossing, with the light of an approaching train. What. Do. You. Do?
The answer they gave was: Get the people out of the car and away from the tracks. Forget about trying to push the car—it’s hard to estimate the distance of an approaching train and it may be too dangerous.
Here’s my answer: Turn around and drive away. If you can’t risk pushing the car, you have nothing to contribute to the situation. Surely they can get out of the car by themselves!
One purpose of these trolley problems is not just to come up with the right answer, but to observe yourself and how you think while trying to come up with the right answer.
In the first version of the trolley problem that I read, your choice was whether or not to slow the trolley and save the passengers by pushing a 600 pound man on to the tracks in front of them. Throwing yourself wasn’t an option, since you were assumed to be lighter. How you would push someone that heavy if he didn’t want to be pushed wasn’t explained.
That’s a no brainer. Switch the track to save the 5 that are tied to the track. If the person standing on the other track is killed it’s because he/she was too stupid to move. Natural selection solved the problem. Hopefully before that person passed on their stupid genes.
This is a really interesting question that programers of autonomous vehicles are currently struggling to answer. Check this out: https://www.insidescience.org/news/moral-dilemmas-self-driving-cars
As I did not tie them to the tracks nor did I direct the man to stand on the other set of tracks I’d likely do nothing and thereby avoid culpability in any deaths.
How about I yell at the dummy standing on the tracks to move his stupid butt out of the way and flip the switch?My teacher always hated seeing my hand go up when he asked these kinds of questions. :^)
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan question right there. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” “Or the one.” Though in this case do the needs of the many truely outweigh the needs of the one when the one is not the person to be rescueing the many?
Very poorly phrased ethics question. Obviously the idea behind the ethics question is do you allow five people to die through inaction or kill one person by direct action? People here are making a big deal out of the fact that the other guy isn’t tied down. Maybe it should be changed from “guy standing on the tracks” to “guy laying unconscious on the tracks”.
I’ve heard one like this: Imagine that you’re driving a bus with cliffs on both eyes. There’s a man stuck to the middle of the road. Do you keep driving and kill him, or veer and kill everyone on the bus?
BE THIS GUY almost 5 years ago
Second question: does the guy on the other track owe me money? Because, I don’t want to kill him before I’m paid back.
LEOKEV almost 5 years ago
As I recall, you can either save 5 strangers or 1 person you know.
Robin Harwood almost 5 years ago
Ha! Judith Jarvis Thomson’s trolley problem makes it into the comics.
B UTTONS almost 5 years ago
Question: who are the five tied to the railroad track. If the five are politicians, those five can start a filibuster that could bring a freight train to a screeching stop with room to spare.
Concretionist almost 5 years ago
I love how Rat makes it so plausible that everything is about him.
Orcatime almost 5 years ago
You lost him at “ethics.”
Johnny Q Premium Member almost 5 years ago
Reminds me of this safety quiz in READER’S DIGEST. You’re driving along at night and you see a car with a lot of people stalled at a level crossing, with the light of an approaching train. What. Do. You. Do?
The answer they gave was: Get the people out of the car and away from the tracks. Forget about trying to push the car—it’s hard to estimate the distance of an approaching train and it may be too dangerous.
Here’s my answer: Turn around and drive away. If you can’t risk pushing the car, you have nothing to contribute to the situation. Surely they can get out of the car by themselves!
kaffekup almost 5 years ago
Here’s one for “prolifers”:
You’re picketing in an in vitro clinic.
A fire breaks out and everyone runs for the exits, except you and a frightened five year old.
Do you save him, or the 20,000 babies in the freezer?
Sherlock Watson almost 5 years ago
If the one guy is just standing on the track instead of being tied down, yell, “GET THE HELL OFF THE TRACK!” and flip the switch.
MeanBob Premium Member almost 5 years ago
The resulting derailment will likely kill them all plus many on the train, ethics be damned.
PICTO almost 5 years ago
If you don’t like answers you shouldn’t ask questions.
Walter Kocker almost 5 years ago
If it’s AMTRAK, it’ll be way late.
Kind&Kinder almost 5 years ago
If he’s a philosopher-king, he gets a pass! :-)
Breadboard almost 5 years ago
No Ethics here . That is double headed coin set-up ! … Croc Power !
Troglodyte almost 5 years ago
Rat has a one-track mind!
the lost wizard almost 5 years ago
Ask yourself. Do these people wish to be saved? Why are they here? Why are they tied up? Oops, too late.
Jeff0811 almost 5 years ago
Flip the switch, free the people, then all 6 of you go beat up the guy that thought up this stupid question.
dwane.scoty1 almost 5 years ago
Another track? Not the “other” only? Easy peasy, switch to a 3rd. track!
hariseldon59 almost 5 years ago
Who ties people to a railroad track these days? Is the culprit Snidely Whiplash?
Mighty Phavahg almost 5 years ago
Watch “The Good Life” for the answer(s).
gorbag almost 5 years ago
Is there any way to have the train run down both tracks?
car2ner almost 5 years ago
sounds like a job for superman…but then what about the owners of the train and the lost wages of undelivered freight?
Kaputnik almost 5 years ago
One purpose of these trolley problems is not just to come up with the right answer, but to observe yourself and how you think while trying to come up with the right answer.
In the first version of the trolley problem that I read, your choice was whether or not to slow the trolley and save the passengers by pushing a 600 pound man on to the tracks in front of them. Throwing yourself wasn’t an option, since you were assumed to be lighter. How you would push someone that heavy if he didn’t want to be pushed wasn’t explained.
lars_doyle almost 5 years ago
That’s a no brainer. Switch the track to save the 5 that are tied to the track. If the person standing on the other track is killed it’s because he/she was too stupid to move. Natural selection solved the problem. Hopefully before that person passed on their stupid genes.
J Quest almost 5 years ago
This is a really interesting question that programers of autonomous vehicles are currently struggling to answer. Check this out: https://www.insidescience.org/news/moral-dilemmas-self-driving-cars
buer almost 5 years ago
Yes, since the guy is standing, what you do is flip the switch and yell at the guy to get out of the track.
However, in the real world, the need for info would be important. Here are some criteria that would influence the decision, as we can see daily:
Are these 5 people on the same political side as mine?
Is their religion the same as mine?
Do they eat or refuse to eat the same things as I do?
Is their skin color the same as mine?
Do they have the same sexual orientations as mine?
Are they insured and is there money to make from their death?
Or money to make from suing the rail company after the catastrophe?
Would them being run over by the train make a source of crude oil available?
Would their being run over by a train divert the media attention away from me?
Would I be able to blame someone else for their death and take advantage of it?
Zebrastripes almost 5 years ago
O M G ….RAT is annoying….
YippiKiAyMofo almost 5 years ago
As I did not tie them to the tracks nor did I direct the man to stand on the other set of tracks I’d likely do nothing and thereby avoid culpability in any deaths.
chris_o42 almost 5 years ago
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”—Mr. Spock
Znox11 almost 5 years ago
It actually says more about the person who came up with the question then it does about how it gets answered.
Egrayjames almost 5 years ago
I don’t care what the rest of you do, I’m going for a beer!
Masterskrain almost 5 years ago
What would I DO??? Sell tickets to the upcoming spectacle of the train wreck!
ekw555 almost 5 years ago
today it seems Rat and I are cut from the same cloth.
SusieB almost 5 years ago
Is The other guy Trump?
Ellis97 almost 5 years ago
So, is the guy on the track supposed to be a billionaire?
RobinHood almost 5 years ago
No the answer is NO, save them all .
smoore47 almost 5 years ago
Use your mobile app to phone the engineer and tell him/her to stop the train.
LaughterIsJoyMuliplied almost 5 years ago
I find Rat’s rationality scary most of the time yet strangely appealing….
Xicks almost 5 years ago
What’s the guy doing on the railroad tracks? What a jerk. He deserves to get run over. ;)
Herb L 1954 almost 5 years ago
If the five on the track are Drumpf,McConnell,Pompeo,Miller,And Barr.Let it do it’s best not to derail ;~|
wirepunchr almost 5 years ago
Quick, take out 5 accidental death insurance policies and don’t do anything else. Problem solved and at a profit.
aimlesscruzr almost 5 years ago
Dumba$$ deserves it for standing on a track while a train is coming. Maybe he’s standing there on purpose…
Kveldulf almost 5 years ago
Earth’s population has tripled since I was born. Yell at the standing guy to move to the other track, then DO NOT throw the switch.
Kveldulf almost 5 years ago
Does anybody here know what a railroad switch looks like, where it’s found, or how to operate it?
bob-droid12 almost 5 years ago
Rat’s question was like the one version of the Trolly Problems that The Good Place didn’t cover I think
Ermine Notyours almost 5 years ago
Imagine a world without hypothetical questions.
zeexenon almost 5 years ago
Nowadays, there’s so much hardpack gravel between ties and under tracks, bring a trowel. Just sayin.
LrdSlvrhnd almost 5 years ago
Followup: Any of the five people cute single women who may be grateful for saving their lives?
WilliamMedlock almost 5 years ago
Is there a train coming in the opposite direction on the other track?
marilynnbyerly almost 5 years ago
Spock’s answer. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
Hello Sweetie almost 5 years ago
How about I yell at the dummy standing on the tracks to move his stupid butt out of the way and flip the switch?My teacher always hated seeing my hand go up when he asked these kinds of questions. :^)
Bilan almost 5 years ago
Nobody brought up the fact that if the single person is a lawyer, you are ethically obligated to pull the lever.
jbruins84341 almost 5 years ago
Since the other guy is standing on the tracks, he should be able to get out of the way of the train. Throw the switch.
Keno21 almost 5 years ago
No matter who dies, it’s Trump’s fault.
knight1192a almost 5 years ago
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan question right there. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” “Or the one.” Though in this case do the needs of the many truely outweigh the needs of the one when the one is not the person to be rescueing the many?
hariseldon59 almost 5 years ago
Very poorly phrased ethics question. Obviously the idea behind the ethics question is do you allow five people to die through inaction or kill one person by direct action? People here are making a big deal out of the fact that the other guy isn’t tied down. Maybe it should be changed from “guy standing on the tracks” to “guy laying unconscious on the tracks”.
Sisyphos almost 5 years ago
Who cares? These are all merely hypothetical victims, anyway. In the Real World, it is extremely unlikely such a situation would ever arise….
One Navy Seal almost 5 years ago
This can be accomplished by multi-track drifting!
Jim Kerner almost 5 years ago
This sounds like a math question from school days.
wwward1948 almost 5 years ago
What disgusting answers! How could you all of you be so callous? But, I agree. Wait until he has paid you back…
PBS1! over 4 years ago
I would flip the switch, then push the other guy out of the way.
Boxo croco says happy derby over 3 years ago
Yell at the other guy to get of the tracks
No One in Particular over 2 years ago
I’ve heard one like this: Imagine that you’re driving a bus with cliffs on both eyes. There’s a man stuck to the middle of the road. Do you keep driving and kill him, or veer and kill everyone on the bus?
the muppets. over 1 year ago
I’d flip the switch and then yell, “GET OUT OF THE WAY MORON!”
the muppets. about 1 year ago
Neil.fun