It would be wrong to throw someone into the path of a runaway trolley in order to stop it and keep it from hitting five people on the track ahead; that would involve intending harm to the one as a means of saving the five. But it would be permissible to divert a runaway trolley onto a track holding one and away from a track holding five: in that case one foresees the death of the one as a side effect of saving the five but one does not intend it.
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prydwen
- 2005-11-17 @ 22:20:44
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If you like a moral conundrum check out my blog called suicide, accident or murder, you decide. It is tagged under 'conundrum'. See what you think
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Try this link
http://www.enterthevoid.blog.co.uk/main/index.php/enterthevoid?tag=Conundrum
and scroll down
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azAA09
- 2005-11-17 @ 22:31:20
You getting good at this sunshine
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- 2005-11-19 @ 20:14:21
It may be more permissible not to act violently at all or perhaps to shout to the 6 and hope for the right solution to emerge - Prydwen could be right or more likely he could be wrong.
The chances are he is incorrect, but either way taking personal responsibility means living with the consequences for ever, we are forced to act on conscience, but life - or death, is rarely really our choice unless we choose to make it so..
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BlueButterfly
- 2005-11-20 @ 16:51:34
If there wasn't much time, would you think before acting, or just do what seems best at the time? Which may turn out to be the best thing or may not.
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BlueButterfly
- 2005-11-20 @ 16:53:10
Maybe the most heroic thing to do would be to jump infront of the trolly your self to save the others.
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SensualReading
- http://www.sensualreading.com
- 2005-11-23 @ 01:29:23
Interesting thought there BB, but could we be that selfless??.......DD
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sleeper
- 2005-11-25 @ 21:40:29
Oooh hey, that smacks of Utilitarianism which put in the words of Spock is "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Tough call. Last night I watched "Touching the Void" in which Simon cuts the rope on his dangling climbing buddy Joe Simpson. Absolutely A-F**KING-MAZING true story of how they both get off the mountain, especially Joe with a smashed leg! They both lived, so perhaps all 6 of the victims of the trolley in your story would have made it through?!?! Who knows?
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A tricky problem giving that one, given the chance to live, may go on to invent somthing that saves millions. We cannot act as God, sometimes the decision is out of our hands I would shout as load as i can to help avoid the accident.