Heard this one on NPR...


Situation A:

A Train is coming down the tracks. There are 4 workers on the track. They won't see the train, and the train won't see them until it's too late.

There is a switch. Pulling the switch will change the train from its current track (with the 4 workers), to one with only 1 worker on it. Do you pull the switch?


Situation B:

A Train is coming down the tracks. There are 4 workers on the track. They won't see the train, and the train won't see them until it's too late.

You are on a bridge over the track with a very large man. If you push the man over the track, it will stop the train and thus save the 4 workers. Do you push him?

----

Is there a difference between the two scenarios?

No. Neither requires any personal sacrifice.

I just read this in The God Delusion.

For me the second is preferable


cause we save the four and kill a fatty.


Is that the right answer?

This is the UK? No-one has actually 'worked' on the railway tracks since the mid 70's. Those guys are obviously steeling the tracks! Let the theifs die!

Always save the 4 workers. The guy who is alone or out of shape on a job site is usually a supervisor or management, so fuck him.

did you hear this one on radiolab?

i think i remember it from there, they observed brain states while asking the questions. believe that most people would flip the switch but hesitate to push the man. the corresponding brain states were very different.


of course rationally there is no difference. in both scenarios, you are actively using the other person's death to save four people. but the average person balks at pushing the fat dude.


i like to delude myself that there is a cool solution involving a bullwhip where everybody survives, but in reality i'd probably take too much time thinking about it & the four workers would get squashed.

Both options require you to end a man's life to save four others. Switching the track is easier for people to justify in their minds but I don't see a difference between the two.

I've heard other people say the second option is unconscionable but I just don't see it. Whether you push fatty in front of a train or you redirect the train so it flattens the lone worker, there really is no difference.

Fattie will have to weigh at least a few long tons to counteract the train's inertia. Are you strong enough to push someone with that kind of mass?

Earwicker wrote:I just read this in The God Delusion.

What did the landed gentry have to say about it? Prob didn't give a shit cos they're all menial workers and shouldn't be standing around in groups slacking.

Earwicker wrote:For me the second is preferable


cause we save the four and kill a fatty.


Is that the right answer?

I think we both know you're right. Kill fatty.

I'm not sure why we aren't trying to derail the train in either scenario.
I would derail the train.