Trolley Problem/Consistency in Ethics

[Amarok]

The stupid idea that humans can only be valuable if some magic sky fairy made a decree by some yet unjustified value system is just that .

[I_am_not_mafia]

Funnily enough this issue has come up in a role playing game that I am in and it's causing a bit of consternation amongst some of my fellow players while others are fine with it. It's made me realise that when it comes to 5 people versus 1 the choice is easy.

What's not so easy is when it's a billion people versus a million. The numbers are too big to contemplate the difference.

Or particularly when the future is not assured.

What if it's not a train on tracks, but a runaway car that you are 95% sure of running over a group of 5 unsuspecting people and if you actively try then you can have it veer over a cliff instead, but there's someone strapped into the back seat who will die if you do so?

[Sal]

Methinks it's a vapid hypothetical, that only serves to test ones ethics which has no application outside of the hypothetical scenario. Sure, fun to play with, but where are you gonna use this info?

[bennyboy]

Funnily enough this issue has come up in a role playing game that I am in and it's causing a bit of consternation amongst some of my fellow players while others are fine with it. It's made me realise that when it comes to 5 people versus 1 the choice is easy.

What's not so easy is when it's a billion people versus a million. The numbers are too big to contemplate the difference.

Or particularly when the future is not assured.

What if it's not a train on tracks, but a runaway car that you are 95% sure of running over a group of 5 unsuspecting people and if you actively try then you can have it veer over a cliff instead, but there's someone strapped into the back seat who will die if you do so?

Is that one person a fat person, or a normal person?  Your scenario is leaving out important details!

[I_am_not_mafia]

Is that one person a fat person, or a normal person?  Your scenario is leaving out important details!

Not fat, but they are ginger. With freckles.

And they wear orange corduroys with a blue top.

And they like, always interject every other word in the sentence like, with the word ... 'like'.

And always end each sentence as if it's a question?

[SaStrike]

Is that one person a fat person, or a normal person?  Your scenario is leaving out important details!

Not fat, but they are ginger. With freckles.

And they wear orange corduroys with a blue top.

And they like, always interject every other word in the sentence like, with the word ... 'like'.

And always end each sentence as if it's a question?

Gingers are people too. They just don't have souls but other than that they're ok.

[I_am_not_mafia]

Gingers are people too. They just don't have souls but other than that they're ok.

Quite agree. I'd like to say some of my best friends are day-walkers but I don't actually have any friends.

[SaStrike]

Gingers are people too. They just don't have souls but other than that they're ok.

Quite agree. I'd like to say some of my best friends are day-walkers but I don't actually have any friends.

What, well i don't see why not...from that list it seems to be the blue top maybe. Yeah ditch the blue top (can't possibly be the orange corderoys)

[bennyboy]

Is that one person a fat person, or a normal person?  Your scenario is leaving out important details!

Not fat, but they are ginger. With freckles.

And they wear orange corduroys with a blue top.

And they like, always interject every other word in the sentence like, with the word ... 'like'.

And always end each sentence as if it's a question?

Well, then we don't really need a long-winded scenario.  Just kill it.  Kill it with fire!

---

Not fat, but they are ginger. With freckles.

And they wear orange corduroys with a blue top.

And they like, always interject every other word in the sentence like, with the word ... 'like'.

And always end each sentence as if it's a question?

Gingers are people too. They just don't have souls but other than that they're ok.

Now I know AF has at least one ginger.  Way for outing yourself, Red! I KNOW you're a ginger, because no non-ginger would ever believe you're actually a person!

[SaStrike]

Not fat, but they are ginger. With freckles.

And they wear orange corduroys with a blue top.

And they like, always interject every other word in the sentence like, with the word ... 'like'.

And always end each sentence as if it's a question?

Well, then we don't really need a long-winded scenario.  Just kill it.  Kill it with fire!

---

Gingers are people too. They just don't have souls but other than that they're ok.

Now I know AF has at least one ginger.  Way for outing yourself, Red! I KNOW you're a ginger, because no non-ginger would ever believe you're actually a person!

I have black hair and no I'm not protesting too much.