Some other ways to tell which of these worlds we’re living in …
Test a blunt description (“The trolley will hit the five people and kill them”) versus a more verbose one, possibly with extraneous technical detail (“The vehicle, whose mass is N metric tons, will collide with the five individuals with a force of M newtons. Every similar collision on record has resulted in instant fatality.”)
Occupy the subjects’ working memory by asking them to memorize a phone number or pattern of symbols before the question.
Occupy the subjects’ attention by asking them the question while bouncing a basketball, or balancing on one foot, or doing some other activity that requires continuous physical attention.
Another thing to look into is how much giving the people names changes things. Or even back stories.
“Will you let Bob Naylor, a 48-year-old mechanic who is working overtime on the trolley track to save up to pay for his daughter’s wedding, die, or will you spare him by swerving the trolley into...”
Some other ways to tell which of these worlds we’re living in …
Test a blunt description (“The trolley will hit the five people and kill them”) versus a more verbose one, possibly with extraneous technical detail (“The vehicle, whose mass is N metric tons, will collide with the five individuals with a force of M newtons. Every similar collision on record has resulted in instant fatality.”)
Occupy the subjects’ working memory by asking them to memorize a phone number or pattern of symbols before the question.
Occupy the subjects’ attention by asking them the question while bouncing a basketball, or balancing on one foot, or doing some other activity that requires continuous physical attention.
Another thing to look into is how much giving the people names changes things. Or even back stories.
“Will you let Bob Naylor, a 48-year-old mechanic who is working overtime on the trolley track to save up to pay for his daughter’s wedding, die, or will you spare him by swerving the trolley into...”