You are a professional trolley controller. As such, you've taken the "trolley switcher's oath," which states that you will never switch a trolley if it will cause harm to another person. This oath is taken very seriously in the trolley community, and it's considered the foundational text of trolley controller's ethics.
One day, the trolley problem happens: a trolley is headed down a track towards five people, but you can throw a switch to divert it to a track with just one person on it. There's no time to do anything else as the trolley speeds down the track.
What should you do?
Do nothing (five die, oath unbroken)
Switch tracks (one dies, oath broken)
You are a professional trolley controller. As such, you've taken the "trolley switcher's oath," which states that you will never switch a trolley if it will cause harm to another person. This oath is taken very seriously in the trolley community, and it's considered the foundational text of trolley controller's ethics. One day, the trolley problem happens: a trolley is headed down a track towards five people, but you can throw a switch to divert it to a track with just one person on it. There's no time to do anything else as the trolley speeds down the track. What should you do?
Do nothing (five die, oath unbroken)
Switch tracks (one dies, oath broken)
