Why Is The Trolley Theory Wrong
Getting to choose who lives and who dies? This is the reason I fell in love with the Trolley Theory during one of our lectures. The Trolley Theory is an ethical experiment commonly discussed and analyzed by philosophers. In the experiment, you must decide if having a single person die in an accident is better, or worse than having five people die in an accident. In this paper I will talk about the Trolley Theory as well as the “Fat Man” theory which is based off on the Trolley Theory. I will discuss the way of thinking around these theories, what made them so memorable for me during that class day, and how the topics are similar and different. First I will discuss The Trolley Theory. This topic puts you in the driver’s seat of a trolley
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In both cases, one person will die if you commit to the act, such as turning the trolley or pushing the fat man. If you choose to commit to the act you will save five people’s lives. The Trolley Theory puts you in the driver’s seat of the trolley and either way you are responsible for what happens because ultimately, you will have to decide whether to let five people die or turn the trolley and let one person die. The “Fat Man” Theory is different because you are physically pushing someone to their death. This theory lets you choose whether to save five people if you can muster the strength to push the fat man, or you can do nothing and five people will die while you continue your day. Both of these theories promote the same type of questions. Both are also set in very similar situations with few differences. In the Trolley Theory, you can turn the trolley and kill one repairman, or you can stay on your course, but either way you will be involved in the accident. In the “Fat Man” theory you can walk away like nothing ever happened, or you can push the fat man and save five rail worker’s lives and potentially be incarcerated. This is the main difference between these two
In both cases, one person will die if you commit to the act, such as turning the trolley or pushing the fat man. If you choose to commit to the act you will save five people’s lives. The Trolley Theory puts you in the driver’s seat of the trolley and either way you are responsible for what happens because ultimately, you will have to decide whether to let five people die or turn the trolley and let one person die. The “Fat Man” Theory is different because you are physically pushing someone to their death. This theory lets you choose whether to save five people if you can muster the strength to push the fat man, or you can do nothing and five people will die while you continue your day. Both of these theories promote the same type of questions. Both are also set in very similar situations with few differences. In the Trolley Theory, you can turn the trolley and kill one repairman, or you can stay on your course, but either way you will be involved in the accident. In the “Fat Man” theory you can walk away like nothing ever happened, or you can push the fat man and save five rail worker’s lives and potentially be incarcerated. This is the main difference between these two