The Trolley problem is an ethical exercise to decide whether 5 people die or 1 person dies in a given situation. This is the problem people killing people with Hellfire missiles from military drones are facing every day around the world 24 hours a day every single day of the year for about 15 years now.
A utilitarian
view asserts that it is obligatory to steer to the track with one man
on it. According to simple utilitarianism, such a decision would be not
only permissible, but, morally speaking, the better option (the other
option being no action at all).[9]
An alternate viewpoint is that since moral wrongs are already in place
in the situation, moving to another track constitutes a participation in
the moral wrong, making one partially responsible for the death when
otherwise no one would be responsible. An opponent of action may also
point to the incommensurability of human lives. Under some interpretations of moral obligation,
simply being present in this situation and being able to influence its
outcome constitutes an obligation to participate. If this is the case,
then deciding to do nothing would be considered an immoral act if one
values five lives more than one.
end partial quote from:
the Trolley Problem
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