The Situation: Imagine a situation where a villain (complete with twisting the handlebar mustache and laughing –Bwah-ha-ha) has set a large trolley rolling down the track from the top of a steep hill. Halfway down the hill you are at a switch that has the ability to change the direction of the trolley onto a second track. If the trolley is left on its current path, it will roll down the hill and kill 5 people who are innocently tied to the tracks. These people will not be able to untie themselves and can never get out of the way in time (oh-no!). However, if you take action and switch the trolley onto the alternative track, the five people will be saved, yet the trolley will run down a single person who has been tied to other track.

Directions:
Describe the ethical reasoning behind your argument for either switching the trolley to a new track or letting it pass by, killing all 5 people tied to the track.

To do this you must choose one of the Moral Theories regarding ethics from our text and this week’s lecture to guide your choice:
Utilitarianism
Deontology
Virtue Ethics