The Trolley Problem: An Ethical Dilemma

The trolley problem is an ethical dilemma that was developed by an English philosopher Philippa Foot. It was designed for the purpose of analyzing how people make ethical decisions in critical situations.
The trolley problem describes a trolley that is moving on tracks with non functioning brakes and there are five people tied to the tracks ahead of it. There is also a lever that switches the direction of the tracks in the way where only one person is tied to the tracks. The problem asks people to make a decision to either not do anything and let five people die, or pull the lever and, therefore, save five lives and kill just one. Under these circumstances, most people chose to save five lives and, by doing so, their decisions are considered utilitarian. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that cares about the
They also make these decisions depending on how much harm will be made to themselves. People who chose not to push a person under the trolley, probably think that they will be criticized a lot more than in the switch decision situation. The probability of them making non utilitarian decisions increases when the same questions are asked and people are told that they will have to kill one of their relatives or themselves.
The trolley problem is also often described when talking about the development of self driving cars. This type of cars will have to make choices based on what they are programmed and, if we look at the trolley problem, these choices may raise many questions. When asked if the car should kill the public or the driver, most of the people say that the car should kill the driver, if they are not drivers themselves. At the same time, when they are asked to think of themselves as drivers, people make non utilitarian decisions and say that they would chose the public to