Brain Teasers
Train Time
A man is working at a switch that rotates a train bridge. It does this so that it can get out of the way if a boat comes through. The man is sitting by the switch, when he hears his son playing on the tracks. He was about to yell at him to get off, but a train cut him off. The man had to make a decision about what to do. What he did doesn't matter, but from a Philosophy standpoint, what should he have done?
Hint
Don't go by statistics.Answer
Don't touch the switch. By moving it, you are committing murder on those who were going to die anyway.Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
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What do you mean, don't go by statistics? and how are legal implications philosophical? I believe the better answer would be to act in a utilitarian manner (ie, act in favor of the greater good). assuming there are more people on the train than on the tracks, you've saved many lives at the expense of one; this is better than sacrificing many to save just one. Same answer, better reason, imho.
By statisitcs I mean don't say it's better to save thirty than one because a human life cannot be valued against a million (Or at least in my oppinion)
Why were the people going to die anyway? And do you mean that a man could be worth more than a million lives?
If the brigde was working, the boy would die. If the bridge wasn't working, the whole train would go off. And in MY oppinion, no amount of human lives can be worth more than any other.
I think you made it kind of unclear as to where the train was, where the boy was, how the bridge was positioned, stuff like that. I agree with you though, that you can't measure human lives against each other.
mogmatt, i was disappointed with the stated answer. you asked for a PHILOSOPHICAL reason as to why he should do one thing or the other, but your answer gave only legal ramifications. I guess that's what the comment box is for! good discussion.
SO you people don't think its right to sacrifice one person to save 1000?
w/o their say so, no
Have you ever studied philosophy? A philosopher cannot answer such a question (or any question for that matter) because to them, there is no answer and it is impossible to decide
Philisophical questions tend not to make
good teasers. While some philosophers
may well propose such a question to illustrate
an issue, and may well have an answer in mind
within a particular philisophical system,
the questions they deal with tend not to be ones
that have easy answers that everyone agrees with.
This question illustrates possible differences
between the consequences of action and inaction,
but that doesn't mean everyone will agree on the answer.
If you agree with the proposed answer here, what
happens if you reverse the situation, and the man
realizes to his horror that the bridge is currently open,
and the train will derail (killing many) unless he closes it, thus
endangering the child? For further effect, now assume
that the child is a stranger to him. Do you still
get the same answer as to what he should do or not do,
and do your initial premises still apply to the second situation?
Or is there an inconsistency in your answers (or a lack of
comfort with the consequences) that may
cause you to reexamine your premises?
good teasers. While some philosophers
may well propose such a question to illustrate
an issue, and may well have an answer in mind
within a particular philisophical system,
the questions they deal with tend not to be ones
that have easy answers that everyone agrees with.
This question illustrates possible differences
between the consequences of action and inaction,
but that doesn't mean everyone will agree on the answer.
If you agree with the proposed answer here, what
happens if you reverse the situation, and the man
realizes to his horror that the bridge is currently open,
and the train will derail (killing many) unless he closes it, thus
endangering the child? For further effect, now assume
that the child is a stranger to him. Do you still
get the same answer as to what he should do or not do,
and do your initial premises still apply to the second situation?
Or is there an inconsistency in your answers (or a lack of
comfort with the consequences) that may
cause you to reexamine your premises?
If you ask me (which you didn't), it was his own fault for not paying attention to his son. Someone shouldn't have to make that decision, especially based on his own inattentiveness.
Firstly I do not think this is a brain teaser. It is an old discussion starter for the debate on "Situational ethics" and addresses the broad question of whether it is morally acceptable to deliberately take a life under any circumstances. Personally I do not believe the number of lives should be the deciding factor.
While I agree that all life is precious, in terms of human suffering it IS better to sacrifice the "one for the good of many." I believe that one death is better than thousands of deaths, by reason of there being less suffering. The problem is, Who is trustworthy enough to make such decisions?
just to play devils advocate, one life, hypothetically can be much greater than 1000 lives because what if they go on to bring about peace or stop a revolution, or have it done peacefully or anything like that, and therefore save 1500 people from dying... so who's to say.
I have seen a similar problem illustrated before. It is a tough choice that I hope no one really has to make...
Ethically, it is better to let what was going to happen happen rather than force the situation and cause deaths either way.
Ethically, it is better to let what was going to happen happen rather than force the situation and cause deaths either way.
It says the man is "working on" the switch. Working on implies that it is not completed, so the answer given isn't relevant given how using the switch presumably isn't an option yet. Would help to phrase it as "shortly after completing"...
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