Movies | Philosophy
The Trolley Problem in Movies (and on Reddit)
I have the solution to the trolley problem. I know that sounds pretentious but hear me out.
What even is the Trolley Problem?
The Trolley Problem is a classic thought experiment. It’s not too complex to set up but it is complex to answer.
In its most basic form, the trolley problem is a binary dilemma. We have a main track where there is a run-away trolley that splits into two tracks. One of the two tracks is track A where we have victim X, and the other track is track B where we have victim Y. You are standing by observing this. Before you is a lever. If you pull the lever, the train will be diverted away from Track A with Victim X onto Track B with Victim Y.
In the default scenario, Track A has five victims while Track B only has one. In this most basic version, the question is whether you’d pull the lever — an action — to sacrifice one person to save five, or not pull the lever — inaction — and let five people die.
This dilemma is very versatile because there are many versions of said dilemma. The variations of the dilemma tend to take the form of variations on victims.
The traditional variant of the dilemma is the fat man example. It’s the same scenario as…
