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AngryParsley comments on Far & Near / Runaway Trolleys / The Proximity Of (Fat) Strangers - Less Wrong
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Comments (46)
I thought most people chose not to push the fat man because there is no conceivably realistic way that a fat man could stop a train, even one as small as a trolley. Although the thought experiment tells us the fat man will stop the train, our knowledge of trains tells us that nothing stops trains. When I envision this scenario, I can't help but (realistically) imagine the trolly hitting the fat man, then continuing on and running over the five others.
See also: Ends Don't Justify Means (Among Humans)
Yes. People get bogged down with the practical difficulties. Another common one is whether you have the strength to throw the stranger off the bridge (might he resist your assault and and even throw you off).
I think the problem is the phrasing of the question. People ask 'would you push the fat man', but they should ask 'SHOULD you push the fat man'. A thought experiemnt is like an opinion poll, the phrasing of the question has a large impact on the answers given. Another reason to be suspicious of them.
Perhaps the thought experiment would benefit from a sentence like this: "Omega appears and tells you that using the fat man would work."
This is no better than stipulation.
Yes- our ethical intuitions weren't designed to work in impossible cases.