The Trolley Problem: A Test Case for Ethical Theories
The Trolley Problem case asks how different ethical theories handle situations in which every available option seems morally troubling. In the classic version, a trolley is heading toward five people on the track. If the driver does nothing, the five will die; if the driver turns the trolley onto a side track, one different person will die instead. A utilitarian will usually say that the driver should sacrifice one person to save five, since that produces the best overall outcome. A Kantian or rights-based theorist may object that intentionally using or killing one innocent person is still wrong, even to save more lives. The main question of this case is whether it is morally permissible to harm one person in order to save several others. This case highlights why thought experiments matter: they reveal what different ethical theories imply when ordinary moral intuitions pull in different directions.