Reference no: EM133243536

Consider two ethical scenarios, depicted below, concerning run-away trolleys. Trolleys, rare in the United States, are like low-speed trains that convey pedestrian traffic within a metropolitan area. Unlike subways, they are above-ground transportation.

In the first case, you are walking through a city next to a trolley track. Suddenly, you see five people tied to the track, and you hear the trolley coming behind you. Oh no! Next to you is a switch that will shift the oncoming trolley to a side track ... yet a single person is tied to that track. Given that the trolley is coming too quickly for you to untie anyone, you must make an instantaneous decision. Do you pull the switch to kill one person while saving five, or do nothing?

In the second case, you are in almost the same scenario. This time, there is no switch, but you are on a bridge over the track next to a huge gentleman. You know, for the sake of argument, that if you push that person over the edge, he will stop the train, yet it will obviously kill him. You also know that you are not big enough to stop the train, should you try to jump in front of the train yourself. Do you push the man over the bridge to save five people, or do nothing?

Write a single post that thoughtfully answers the given questions. Do you pull the switch to kill one person while saving five? Also, do you push the man over the bridge to save five people? Explain your reasoning. If you provided a different response in the second case, what about the second case is different? Explain.