it could never be the case that an agent will do the wrong/immoral/unethical thing no matter what he or she chooses.
Most people do have this belief. I think it’s a safe one, though. It follows from a substantive belief most people have, which is that agents are only morally responsible for things that are under their control.
In the context of a trolley problem, it’s stipulated that the person is being confronted with a choice—in the context of the problem, they have to choose. And so it would be blaming them for something beyond their control to say “no matter what you do, you are blameworthy.”
One way to fight the hypothetical of the trolley problem is to say “people are rarely confronted with this sort of moral dilemma involuntarily, and it’s evil to to put yourself in a position of choosing between evils.” I suppose for consistency, if you say this, you should avoid jury service, voting, or political office.
Most people do have this belief. I think it’s a safe one, though. It follows from a substantive belief most people have, which is that agents are only morally responsible for things that are under their control.
In the context of a trolley problem, it’s stipulated that the person is being confronted with a choice—in the context of the problem, they have to choose. And so it would be blaming them for something beyond their control to say “no matter what you do, you are blameworthy.”
One way to fight the hypothetical of the trolley problem is to say “people are rarely confronted with this sort of moral dilemma involuntarily, and it’s evil to to put yourself in a position of choosing between evils.” I suppose for consistency, if you say this, you should avoid jury service, voting, or political office.