Railroad Problem

While editing my opinion post I spoke about psychology. It reminded me of a classic psychology debate, the railroad problem.

A train is moving down the tracks at an unstoppable speed. There are 4 railroad workers on the track that are going to be unknowingly killed by the train. But you have the option of pulling a switch that moves the trains tracks that it only kills one person. What would you do?

I had my answer to this easily, pull the switch.




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My first justification for this was a simple math problem. 4 is greater then 1. This point is not easy to make at all because it requires you to make the barbaric thought that all these lives are equal, but when can one persons life be compared to others? Sometimes a thought that if you personally knew the person that was alone and to be killed if you pulled the switch, would you? Then as you see it the one person would have more value to you, I do not know if I would still pull it.

When I was arguing my points to people of the other view, a common trend came from them, saying that they would leave and choose not to pull it. It was not their choice to make decisions about others lives, and out of sight, out of mind. I had to decline the thought of just running away. I remembered a movie I had just recently watched and at the climax when the hero was going to run away, the heroin reminded him that "You are the one who has the power to do and change something, sometimes you can't run away rely on others to do it" (this was from Team America, World Police, I learn my morals from the creators of South Park). When the power is in our hands to change something for the better, we must do it. But again this goes down to the basics of the problem to what is better.

This is not an easy problem to counter and fight for my side because the psychology of someones nurture really affects their decision, like most opinions. I just feel that being able to get 4 hugs and hearing thank you for saving my life, 4 times rather then once it justification alone.