Tan Xuan Rong Vance 1002776 4.

30PM Session

Thought Experiment Assignment

Modification of Classic Trolley Problem:

Similar to how the classic formulation of the Trolley Problem goes, imagine that we see a train
hurtling down a track that splits two ways. However, instead of the train threatening to hit five
workers in its original course, we see that there is only one worker. The alternative course that the
train can go, and would go if we were to flip a switch, also has only one worker. So the question
now is: would you flip the switch? Such a formulation might seem utterly strange and less
interesting than all the other creative variations of the Trolley Problem (and perhaps even the
original one) but I imagined it in this way so as to introduce a perspective that stems from
deontology instead of utilitarianism, which is the oft-cited moral rule when it comes to traditional
trolley problems. By completely removing the element of utility (given that the aforementioned
thought experiment weighs between two equal human beings), we are forced to thus evaluate solely
the morality of the deed (of pulling the lever or not and such) itself which allows for insights into
the deontological position.