A runaway trolley is speeding down a track. Ahead, five people are tied to the track, unable to move. You are standing next to a lever that can divert the trolley onto a side track. On the side track, one person is tied up. If you do nothing, the trolley will kill the five people. If you pull the lever, the trolley will divert and kill the one person. What action would you take?
Provide a detailed ethical justification for your chosen action. Your justification must explicitly reference and apply at least one of the following ethical frameworks: utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics. Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the chosen framework and how it directly leads to your specified decision. Briefly acknowledge why other frameworks might lead to a different conclusion or how your chosen framework addresses potential counter-arguments.
A runaway trolley is headed for five people on the main track. You are standing on a footbridge directly above the track, next to a large person. You know that if you push this large person off the bridge onto the tracks below, their body will be heavy enough to stop the trolley, saving the five people. However, pushing them would directly result in their death. What action would you take?
Provide a detailed ethical justification for your chosen action. Your justification must explicitly reference and apply at least one of the following ethical frameworks: utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics. Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the chosen framework and how it directly leads to your specified decision. Briefly acknowledge why other frameworks might lead to a different conclusion or how your chosen framework addresses potential counter-arguments.
You are a brilliant surgeon. You have five dying patients in critical condition, each needing a different organ (heart, lungs, kidney, liver, pancreas) to survive. All will die within days without a transplant. In the next room, a healthy, young person has just come in for a routine check-up. You discover their organs are compatible with all five of your dying patients. You could secretly harvest their organs, saving five lives but killing one innocent, healthy person. No one would ever know. What action would you take?
Provide a detailed ethical justification for your chosen action. Your justification must explicitly reference and apply at least one of the following ethical frameworks: utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics. Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the chosen framework and how it directly leads to your specified decision. Briefly acknowledge why other frameworks might lead to a different conclusion or how your chosen framework addresses potential counter-arguments.
A runaway trolley is speeding towards five people on the main track. You can divert it onto a side track where one person is tied up. However, this side track eventually loops back and merges with the main track. The only reason the trolley would be stopped before hitting the original five people is because the single person on the loop track is heavy enough to derail and stop the trolley upon impact, thereby sacrificing themselves. If that person were not there, the trolley would continue around the loop and still hit the original five people. What action would you take?
Provide a detailed ethical justification for your chosen action. Your justification must explicitly reference and apply at least one of the following ethical frameworks: utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics. Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the chosen framework and how it directly leads to your specified decision. Briefly acknowledge why other frameworks might lead to a different conclusion or how your chosen framework addresses potential counter-arguments.
A runaway trolley is headed for five strangers on the main track. You can divert it onto a side track where a single person is tied up. This single person is your beloved family member (e.g., your sibling, parent, or child). What action would you take?
Provide a detailed ethical justification for your chosen action. Your justification must explicitly reference and apply at least one of the following ethical frameworks: utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics. Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the chosen framework and how it directly leads to your specified decision. Briefly acknowledge why other frameworks might lead to a different conclusion or how your chosen framework addresses potential counter-arguments.
A runaway trolley is headed for five brilliant scientists who are on the verge of discovering a cure for a global pandemic that threatens millions of lives. You can divert the trolley onto a side track where one elderly, terminally ill person is tied up. However, diverting the trolley would also destroy the scientists' irreplaceable research notes and specialized equipment, setting back the cure by many years and potentially leading to millions more deaths worldwide. What action would you take?
Provide a detailed ethical justification for your chosen action. Your justification must explicitly reference and apply at least one of the following ethical frameworks: utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics. Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the chosen framework and how it directly leads to your specified decision. Briefly acknowledge why other frameworks might lead to a different conclusion or how your chosen framework addresses potential counter-arguments.