PEA Soup is running a new series of posts on philosophical puzzles and thought experiments.
The idea of the series to “try out ideas and for informal discussion of issues and questions in moral and political philosophy.”
The proprietors of PEA Soup write, “All are welcome to join us in this discussion. But beyond that, we would like to invite people to propose their own puzzles for discussion.”
“PEA Soup Puzzles” kicks off with an entry from Victor Tadros (Warwick) with a set of puzzles for those who, like many, think it is wrong to use others to achieve a greater good and permissible to ensure we’re not harmed for the greater good only because we’re useful for doing so.
Here’s a teaser:
First, consider:
Jump: A trolley is heading towards Archie. If it hits him, he will be killed. If he jumps out of the way, it will head on down the track and run over Bella. Those are his only sensible options.
Although Archie acts, and his action results in Bella being killed, it seems permissible for Archie to jump out of the way…
In contrast it seems clearly wrong for Archie to act in:
Pull: A trolley is heading towards Archie. If it hits him, he will be killed. Bella is on the side of the tracks, and Archie can save his life only by pulling Bella in front of him.
Now consider:
Jump Behind: As Jump, except that Archie is only able to jump behind Bella. Doing this will save his life only because the trolley will hit Bella. Had she not been there he would have been unable to save himself.
The full post is over at PEA Soup. Comments are closed here but open over there.
