The Trolley Dilemma

When someone is making an ethical decision they are going through a process of making this decision based on their moral principles. Ethics are principles of behaviour that inform people how to act in certain situations are based on one’s environment

My ethics have been formed over a lifetime of experiences. Because of these experiences and my personal beliefs, I use my rationality to decide what my duties are. I believe that each individual is independently responsible for their own morals. This corresponds with my personal preferred lens which is rights and responsibility. When faced with adversity, I use my practical nature to determine the best course of action. I want to ensure I have examined all angles and outcomes prior to making a

In this paper, I will explicate how a Utilitarian and a Kantian would understand the Trolley Problem and describe why I consider the Utilitarian approach to fare better in the case of the Trolley Problem. On one hand, a Utilitarian, a believer in the philosophy of Utilitarianism, believes that a morally admirable action is one that helps the maximum number of people. A Kantian, on the other hand, is a believer and follower of the Kantian ethics, which fundamentally preach that the correctness or wrongness of one’s actions depends on if one carries out one’s duty, and not on the consequences of one’s actions. In order to further understand the perspectives of these two philosophies, I will explain how they would comprehend the Trolley Problem, which is, essentially, a theoretical moral predicament where a trolley is speeding down a railway track and five people are tied to the track and a bystander has two options: either pull a lever, divert the train to an alternate railway track with one person on it and kill that one person and save five people, and thus intentionally commit homicide, or the bystander doesn’t pull the lever and lets five people die, therefore submissively allowing five deaths.

The complexity of the Trolley problem is one that can be resolved by unravelling the concept itself and considering the multipe possible analogies, the use of which is very important in the understanding and answering of ethical questions such as the Trolley problem . The trolley problem mainly deals with the law in relation in to morality, how public policy dictates or influences legality. Finding the most ethical solution to the problem is what is required of those who dare undertaking solving this problem

Recognizing that not all decisions are ethical, one’s moral principles acts as a guide for their behavior and decision making. Therefore, ethics do (and should) play a major role in decision making.

An ethical dilemma is an incident that causes us to question how we should react based on our beliefs. A decision needs to be made between right and wrong. I have experienced many ethical dilemmas in my lifetime, so I know that there is no such thing as an ethical dilemma that only affects one person. I also know that some ethical dilemmas are easier to resolve than others are. The easy ones are the ones in which we can make decisions on the spot. For example, if a cashier gives me too much change, I can immediately make a decision to either return the money or keep it. Based on Kant’s, categorical imperative there are two criteria for determining moral right and wrong. First, there is universalizability, which states, “the person’s

Ethical and unethical situations occur on a daily basis and are seen all around us. Being ethical requires one to take responsibility for their actions and doing what is right in any given circumstance. Every person has the power to dictate their actions on how they are going to handle any situation they are put in. I have experienced numerous amounts of situations that have tested my ethical behavior and actions. Throughout my experiences, I have realized that ethics has a great impact on many different aspects of life such as society, career, and personal life. Understanding the meaning of ethics allows me to grow as a person and to truly do what is right with any issue I am faced with.

Throughout life, individuals are often faced with a multitude of moral dilemmas which can be difficult to assess given the factors of the situation and consequences, based on what is right and wrong. In this paper I will be assessing the Trolley Problem in relation to Utilitarianism and Deontology and will conclude which theory is the best way to behave given the situation. In the first paragraph, I will begin by discussing the Trolley Problem followed by the next paragraph’s which will explaining how Utilitarianism and Deontology would approach the situation. Furthermore, I will be discussing which theory I believe is right in regards to the best way to behaving in society, given the possible outcomes of the problem. Since the moral issue of killing and letting die are close in hand, Deontology is the only explainable way to behave because this theory approaches all situations in regard to what is fair and acceptable for all, while Utilitarianism takes an approach that degrades humanity and differs from person to person.

1 Explain the Trolley Driver, Bystander at the Switch, Fat Man, Transplant, & Hospital scenarios discussed in the "The Trolley Problem" reading. In doing so, address what the ethical issue(s) are in each of these scenarios.

Making consistently ethical decisions is difficult. Most decisions have to be made in the context of economic, professional and social pressures, which can sometimes challenge our ethical goals and conceal or confuse the moral issues. In addition, making ethical choices is complex because in many situations there are a multitude of competing interests and values. Other times, crucial facts are unknown or ambiguous. Since many actions are likely to benefit some people at the expense of others, the decision maker must prioritize competing moral claims and must be proficient at predicting the likely consequences of various choices. An ethical person often chooses to do more than the law requires and less than the law allows.

An ethical dilemma is a conflict between two moral imperatives. There are five basic moral principles: the value of life, goodness/rightness, justice/fairness, honest/truth-telling, and individual freedom/autonomy. When a person is faced with an ethical dilemma, he or she is forced to choose the lesser violation of the two. Not only does this occur in everyday life, but authors also use this plot line in their novels. An example of an ethical dilemma novel is “The Hunger Games.” In fact, “The Hunger Games” contains several ethical dilemmas.

I have an example in which my personal ethics were greatly tested. When I was still working as an Assistant Security Director, the head Security Director was a very harsh, uncaring, pushy type of a person. He often treated all of his employees very poorly. He called everyone awful names. Once an employee had made a mistake within their job duties, my boss would forever hold that over their heads and often referred to those employees as “his retards.” He would even introduce them to other people that were hired into our department as retard # 1, 2, & 3.

From the reading, I understand that people think and act differently when faced with ethical issues. For one to make a rational decision, an extensive process of judgment is required (Bandura, Caprara, & Zsolnai, 2000). For an individual to be responsible, he or she should put into consideration the magnitude of the consequences of the actions, social

To make an ethical decision, it is necessary to perceive and eliminate immoral options and select the best and ethical alternative. It is a process of choosing the best ethical option among the alternatives.

Ford and Richardson (1994) the model of ethical decision-making is generally detached by individual factors and situational factors, which in situational factors is the most important.