The “jump in front of the trolley” question has the same problem. If I can stop the trolley by jumping in front of it, won’t the first person tied to the tracks stop it as well?
Why can’t we just state these hypothetical problems more directly?
Is it better that five people should die or that one person should die if there are no other options? I prefer the latter.
Is it better that five people should die or that I should directly kill one person if there are no other options? I prefer the latter.
Is it better that five people should die or that I should die if there are no other options? I prefer the former.
Is it better to value my own life more than arbitrarily many other people’s lives? I don’t think so.
The “jump in front of the trolley” question has the same problem. If I can stop the trolley by jumping in front of it, won’t the first person tied to the tracks stop it as well?
Why can’t we just state these hypothetical problems more directly?
Is it better that five people should die or that one person should die if there are no other options? I prefer the latter.
Is it better that five people should die or that I should directly kill one person if there are no other options? I prefer the latter.
Is it better that five people should die or that I should die if there are no other options? I prefer the former.
Is it better to value my own life more than arbitrarily many other people’s lives? I don’t think so.