A trolley is speeding down a track and cannot be stopped. In its path are five people who have been tied to the track. You have the option to flip a switch and lead the trolley down a different track, avoiding the five people. However, the second track has one person tied to it. Should you flip the switch?

Write down your choice and your reasons, along with any additional information that would help you make a decision.

A trolley is running down a track and cannot be stopped. In its path are five people who have been tied to the track. You are on a bridge where the trolley will pass, and the only way to stop it is to throw something heavy in front of the trolley. The only heavy object around you is a large man walking by, so the only way to save the five people is to push the man off of the bridge and in front of the trolley. Should you push him?

 A set of standards of behavior that tells us how we ought to act in any given situation.

 Utilitarian  Rights  Fairness (Justice)  Common Good

As we go through these approaches, think about which approach resembles the reasons you chose for the decisions you made, or the questions you had.

 The morally right course of action in any situation is the one that produces the greatest balance of benefits over harms for everyone affected.  So long as a course of action produces maximum benefits for everyone, utilitarianism does not care whether the benefits are produced by lies, manipulation, or coercion.  The right action is whatever produces “the greatest good for the greatest number.” – Jeremy Bentham

 The morally right course of action is one that respects the basic rights of each of the individuals involved.  Actions are wrong to the extent that they violate the rights of individuals.  Negative rights - privacy, life, property.  Welfare rights – health, education.  Immanuel Kant: "Everyone is obligated to act only in ways that respect the human dignity and moral rights of all persons."

 The morally right course of action is one that gives whomever what they deserve.  Equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally.  In evaluating any moral decision, we must ask whether our actions treat all persons equally. If not, we must determine whether the difference in treatment is justified  Are the criteria we are using relevant to the situation at hand?

 The morally right course of action is one that is accordance with the common good of society.  Consists primarily of having the social systems, institutions, and environments on which we all depend work in a manner that benefits all people.  Examples: accessible and affordable public health care system, an effective system of public safety and security, peace among the nations of the world, a just legal and political system, etc.