A runaway train is racing toward five men who are tied to the
track. Unless the train is stopped, it will inevitably kill all
five men. You are standing on a footbridge looking down on the
unfolding disaster. However, a fat man, a stranger, is standing
next to you: if you push him off the bridge, he will topple onto
the line and, although he will die, his chunky body will stop the
train, saving five lives. Would you kill the fat man?
The question may seem bizarre. But it's one variation of a
puzzle that has baffled moral philosophers for almost half a
century and that more recently has come to preoccupy
neuroscientists, psychologists, and other thinkers as well. In this
book, David Edmonds, coauthor of the best-selling "Wittgenstein's
Poker," tells the riveting story of why and how philosophers have
struggled with this ethical dilemma, sometimes called the trolley
problem. In the process, he provides an entertaining and
informative tour through the history of moral philosophy. Most
people feel it's wrong to kill the fat man. But why? After all, in
taking one life you could save five. As Edmonds shows, answering
the question is far more complex--and important--than it first
appears. In fact, how we answer it tells us a great deal about
right and wrong.
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