If you’re just genuinely curious where people who go, push come to shove, then all the creative solutions are obviously worthless data. If you’re trying to get people to think about the real world, and firm up their own understanding, shouldn’t we be berating the people who would blithely kill one person to save five, without thinking about a creative approach?
I’d say one is occasionally, rarely, in a situation where immediate action is truly required, and the trolley problem is good for developing a “moral reflex” there—just as marital arts give one a physical reflex for a fight that gives no time for thought.
However, the more common situation is the one where a creative approach, a third option, is exactly what we want. By discouraging such responses, I’d think this reinforces the rule “don’t try creative solutions” and “you have no power except this little bit”—it encourages an attitude of mindless acceptance of the situation as presented, and insists that everything should be a dry moral arithmetic.
I’d feel most comfortable around someone whose answer is “I’d try to find a creative solution but, given push comes to shove, I’d kill one to save five”.
If you’re just genuinely curious where people who go, push come to shove, then all the creative solutions are obviously worthless data. If you’re trying to get people to think about the real world, and firm up their own understanding, shouldn’t we be berating the people who would blithely kill one person to save five, without thinking about a creative approach?
I’d say one is occasionally, rarely, in a situation where immediate action is truly required, and the trolley problem is good for developing a “moral reflex” there—just as marital arts give one a physical reflex for a fight that gives no time for thought.
However, the more common situation is the one where a creative approach, a third option, is exactly what we want. By discouraging such responses, I’d think this reinforces the rule “don’t try creative solutions” and “you have no power except this little bit”—it encourages an attitude of mindless acceptance of the situation as presented, and insists that everything should be a dry moral arithmetic.
I’d feel most comfortable around someone whose answer is “I’d try to find a creative solution but, given push comes to shove, I’d kill one to save five”.