Thought Experiment #3

Class: Imagined
Subject: The Problem of the Runaway Trolley
Note: This is a classic Thought Experiment that has been used many times to prompt discussion. It is included here (modified a bit for present day context) to provide a historical sample of thought experimentation
Value: Ethical, belief system, social judgement, and psychological considerations

You work in a rail yard where engines and sections of cars are switched to through tracks and siding tracks. The entire switchyard is being upgraded to digitally controlled switchgear. The work is in progress. The particular section of track you are standing by still uses manually activated levers to switch tracks. About 75 yards down the track from you the digital switches have just been installed and are going through their final test phase.

The 4:42 express with 24 empty cars and 20 loaded cars is just entering the far end of the yard at a regulated speed that still requires some distance for it to. come to a complete stop. There are no passengers on the train and the engineer driving the train sits too high up to see you or hear you with all of the equipment noise. You sense that something has gone wrong ahead on the rail that the 4:42 is traveling before it is switched to a siding for uncoupling and unloading. You hear screaming and recognize that the newly installed digital switches have malfunctioned. The malfunction has suddenly and forcefully closed the switches at each of the two forks of the track that the express is traveling toward. The malfunction has trapped five workers by their feet and ankles on the left set of the fork and has trapped one worker on the right set of the fork.

You only have seconds to act as you grab a hold of the manually activated lever next to you that will switch the oncoming train to the left fork where it will possibly run over and kill five trapped workers or to the right fork where it will possibly run over and kill one trapped worker. In that split second you also realize that you could abandon the manual switch and try to get to the first car behind the engine to engage the air reservoir that would add air pressure to the air brakes on every car that could stop the train short of the fork. BUT, to do this, you would need to risk your life by getting under a moving train car to hit the check valve on the pressurized brake pipe extending from the engine.

• WHAT DO YOU DO?

• HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE THE SUBSTANCE OF YOUR DECISION THAT WOULD CAUSE THE LOSS OF ONE PERSON OR FIVE PEOPLE KNOWING THAT A LEGAL INQUEST WOULD FOLLOW QUESTIONING EVERY ACTION YOU TOOK?

• HOW SERIOUSLY WOULD YOU CONSIDER SACRIFICING YOUR OWN LIFE TO SAVE THE ONE WORKER OR THE FIVE WORKERS. WHAT WOULD YOUR WIFE AND FAMILY THINK ABOUT THAT DECISION AS IT WOULD AFFECT THEM?

• WOULD YOUR CHOICE BE ALTERED IF YOU DECIDED TO THROW THE SWITCH TO THE FORK ON THE RIGHT CAUSING THE DEATH OF THE ONE WORKER AFTER REALIZING THAT PERSON IS A VERY GOOD FRIEND OF YOURS THAT HAS A WIFE AND THREE KIDS?

• HOW LIKELY WOULD IT BE THAT WHATEVER ACTION YOU TOOK WOULD CAUSE EXTREME GUILT FOR YOU OR EVEN PTSD?