
A rigorous treatment of a thought experiment that has become notorious within and outside of philosophy - The Trolley Problem - by one of the most influential moral philosophers alive todaySuppose you can stop a trolley from killing five people, but only by turning it onto a side track where it will kill one. May you turn the trolley? What if the only way to rescue the five is to topple a bystander in front of the trolley so that his body stops it but he dies? May you use a device to stop the trolley that will kill a bystander as a side effect? The "Trolley Problem" challenges us to explain and justify our different intuitive judgments about these and related cases and has spawned a huge literature. F.M. Kamm's 2013 Tanner Lectures present some of her views on this notorious moral conundrum. After providing a brief history of changing views of what the problem is about and attempts to solve it, she focuses on two prominent issues: Does who turns the trolley and how the harm is shifted affect the moral permissibility of acting? The answers to these questions lead to general proposals about when we may and may not harm some to help others. Three distinguished philosophers - Judith Jarvis Thomson (one of the originators of the trolley problem), Thomas Hurka, and Shelly Kagan - then comment on Kamm's proposals. She responds to each comment at length, providing an exceptionally rich elaboration and defense of her views. The Trolley Problem Mysteries is an invaluable resource not only to philosophers concerned about the Trolley Problem, but to anyone worried about how we ought to act when we can lessen harm to some by harming others and how we can reach a decision about the question.
This work investigates the moral permissibility of shifting harm from a larger group to a smaller group through the lens of the classic trolley problem thought experiment. F.M. Kamm, a prominent moral philosopher, utilizes her 2013 Tanner Lectures to analyze the nuances of agency, intention, and the mechanics of harm. She presents a structured framework for evaluating when it is ethically justifiable to cause harm to some in order to prevent greater harm to others.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts recognize this volume as a significant contribution to contemporary moral philosophy, particularly for its rigorous engagement with the trolley problem's complexities. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is best suited for those with a background in ethical theory or philosophy.
Page Count:
270
Publication Date:
2015-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190247177
ISBN-13:
9780190247171
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