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Plastic philosophy.

Oct 2, 2021, 8 tweets

Happy #trolleyday!

Today's the birthday of Philippa Foot, the mother of one of the best known ethical dilemmas of our time: the 'trolley problem'.

The original trolley problem:

A brakeless trolley nears.
If you don't act, 5 people will die.
If you change its track by pulling the lever, only 1 will die.
What will you do?

#trolleyday

The trolley problem fallacy:
Perceiving the world as a collection of pullable levers.

#trolleyday

A variation of the trolley problem:

5 people die if they don't receive a different vital organ.

1 healthy person enters with all 5 vital organs functioning.

Is it better to save the 5 by killing the 1?

"You can also commit injustice by doing nothing."
- Marcus Aurelius

A trolley nears.

No one is in danger.

You are an ethics teacher.

Should you put people on the trolley tracks in order to keep your job?

🚋

Today's tip:
Never stand too close to a utilitarian on a trolley overpass.

#trolleyday

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