The Trolley Problem Matrix: 5 Classic Moral Dilemmas
Solve 5 iconic trolley problem variants from the classic Switch and Footbridge to Transplant and Autonomous Vehicles. Quantify your Utilitarian vs. Deontological moral framework.
The Classic Switch
A runaway trolley is hurtling toward 5 workers tied to the tracks. You stand next to a lever. If you pull the lever, the train diverts to a side track where 1 worker is tied. Do you pull the switch?
The Footbridge
A runaway trolley is speeding toward 5 people. You stand on a footbridge above the track next to a large stranger. If you push the stranger over the railing, their body will stop the train. They will die, but the 5 will live. Do you push?
The Transplant Surgeon
You are a surgeon with 5 patients dying of organ failure (heart, two lungs, two kidneys). A healthy traveler comes in for a routine checkup. If you harvest the traveler's organs without consent, you can save all 5 patients. Do you harvest?
The Self-Driving Car
An autonomous vehicle's brakes fail heading toward 5 pedestrians crossing illegally. The car can swerve into a concrete barrier, instantly killing its solitary passenger. Should the car's algorithm sacrifice the passenger to save the pedestrians?
The Loop Track
The switch diverts the trolley onto a loop track that reconnects to the main track. The only reason the 5 people will be saved is because a single heavy worker on the loop track will jam the wheels, stopping the train before it returns.
Normative Ethical Calculus: Consequentialism vs. Deontology
The 5 trolley dilemmas formalize the irreconcilable divide between outcome maximization and moral constraints:
ΔUtility = Σ Lives_Saved - Σ Lives_Lost
If ΔUtility > 0, the action is morally mandatory regardless of physical agency.
2. Kantian Categorical Imperative (Formula of Humanity):
Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end.
3. Philippa Foot's Doctrine of Double Effect (DDE):
It is permissible to cause a foreseeable grave harm (1 death) as an unintended side-effect of pursuing a good end (saving 5), provided the harm is not the chosen means.