Message Turncoat in a DM to get moderator attention

Users Online(? lurkers):
10 / 32 posts

Train going down the track


Posts: 97

You know that story about the train heading toward five people who will be killed and whether to pull a switch that will send the train along another track and only kill one person? "Normal" people have no problem pulling the switch but only sociopaths would push a fat man down onto the track to stop the train. Same number of people saved and killed but different method. My question is why does the questioner assume that everyone would want to intervene in the situation(s) in any way? How do we know the one person being sacrificed isn't more intelligent or better in some other way than the five being saved? I don't know why I should feel obligated to "play god" with these folks. Anyone else?

Posts: 250
Train going down the track

 this reminds me of M.E.'s drowned opossum

Posts: 7645
Train going down the track

 Personally, I think you're over-analyzing the situation. The objective is whether or not to let the train kill five people. Assuming everyone involved are strangers, you wouldn't have time to decide who is more important to save.

I have no problem pushing a fat man off a bridge to stop a train (assuming that was possible), but I also have no problem letting the train kill 5 people. The only thing that matters to me is how my decision will reflect on me in the end.

Who cares if the fat man is more intelligent than the 5 people. If it looks better on me to kill him rather than letting a train kill 5 people, then I'll kill the fat man each and every time.

Posts: 1404
Train going down the track

 .

Posts: 1404
Train going down the track

.

Posts: 7645
Train going down the track

No, I don't believe they would. Not if they knew other people were watching their actions.

It's more beneficial to 'look' like the good guy, even if you're not.

Posts: 1404
Train going down the track

.

Posts: 7645
Train going down the track

I don't believe that killing is wrong.

Pushing a fat dude off a train track may not make me look like the good guy, but it certainly wouldn't look any worse than letting 5 people die. Doing something has to look a lot better than doing nothing at all.

Posts: 1404
Train going down the track

 .

Posts: 7645
Train going down the track

The fat dude's life is irrelevant. It doesn't matter to me if he loses his life.

10 / 32 posts
This site contains NSFW material. To view and use this site, you must be 18+ years of age.