What Would YOU Do In This Situation?

[Vizardlorde]

Millions? I wouldn't this it that far for a family member....

Id let 5/6 of the world population die if it meant saving a loved one that still has youth but i wouldnt let anyone die if it meant saving my 80 year old grandfather

[Theinquisition]

Record it all on my phone and post it to youtube, just like anyone else these days would.

[Theinquisition]

And blame everyone for not helping, right?

Yep, cause that's the world we live in!

[krunksmash]

Easy switch to track B then run and pull the 1 person off of the track there-by saving all 4

[Pony Soldier]

Depending on how trapped they are and how far the train is I would save them all. If I HAD to choose, of course it would be track A. No matter what happens in this situation people are going to die so you might as well reduce the amount of people dying to just the one person. Would make no sense if you picked track B to save one person versus five people.

This question would be difficult though if it said that the one person on track B was a loved one whether it be a family member, friend, or girlfriend/fiance/husband/wife. Would you save the person you love or 5 total strangers?

[hawtlol]

I read it as I was on track B and either had to let myself die or 5 people died. I chose the 5 people to die instead of myself.

[Payday]

Flip the derail and pull out my camera phone of course.

[Velaniz]

The situation is missing one key element. You are supposed to know/see/somehow be able to interact/have interacted with the single person. Without that, it just becomes a simple numbers choice.

No, it's not missing anything at all.

This isn't a simple '5 lives vs 1' scenario. There's more to it than that, and unfortunately it's not immediately obvious to most. It's only when more extreme variants of what's in principle the same situation is presented to people that they see the unscrupulousness of a utilitarian approach to this dilemma. For instance, if the poll had been whether people would harvest organs from a completely healthy person and give them to 5 dying people, but killing the healthy person in the process, you wouldn't have 75% voting in the affirmative (or at least I hope they wouldn't).

[Yvaelle]

I wouldnt touch it. It might kill 5 people but it would be an accident, switching it would make me a murderer.

Killing no one is always better than killing one person, no matter what justification you think you may have for it.

O.O

A man is hanging from a ledge before you, you can reach out and pull them up - or you can do nothing and watch them fall to their certain death. If you do not act, do you believe you are not guilty? Failing to save five people (+4 after the -1 on track B) is not significantly different. Maybe the death of five people isn't suitably horrific for you to get the point though, let's try:

A milllion people are tied to track A, 1 person is tied to track B - the train is approaching on track A - do you swap the train to track B to save 999,999 people at the cost of one? If you fail to act, a million people will die - does that change your answer?

[Raphtheone]

O.O
A milllion people are tied to track A, 1 person is tied to track B - the train is approaching on track A - do you swap the train to track B to save 999,999 people at the cost of one? If you fail to act, a million people will die - does that change your answer?

I must say - from personal experience - that a million people is a hell of a meat shield, and no train can plow through them all.

[Payday]

I must say - from personal experience - that a million people is a hell of a meat shield, and no train can plow through them all.

Please, go on..

[Mayhem]

Nah its more about if anyone takes your stuff, you can shoot them.

I dont know if Europeans have the obligation to help by law but I'm pretty sure no law can force you to risk your life and if your help causes death or further injuries, you're still held responsible.

at least in austria and germany we have yep, though you aren´t obligated if you´d have to risk your life

stgb §95 unterlassung der hilfeleistung

[xinjun]

1 dying > 5 dying.. however it isn't my fault the train is going to kill people but it WOULD be my fault if it killed the 1 person due to my actions. I'd leave it be.