This weekend we watched Eye in the Sky, a 2015 British thriller that shares the dilemma of what’s right and what’s not in a war.
What this movie beautifully brought out is the Trolley problem. For those, who haven’t heard of the trolley problem, consider the below situation.
There is a trolley running down a track. On this track there are five people standing oblivious to the incoming trolley which is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance watching the trolley speed up and next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is a person standing on the side track. You have two options:
- Let the trolley run its course and kill the five people on the main track.
- Pull the lever, diverting the trolley onto the side track where it will kill one person.
Which is the most ethical choice?
The trolley problems depicts the differences between two schools of thought – the Utilitarian and the Deontological. The former talks about the greater good and that sacrificing one life to save five lives is justified. The latter, deontological judges the morality of an action. The fact that killing of an innocent person is just as wrong even if it has good consequences.
What if this person was your child or your own blood relative? Would you still choose to pull the lever like most people would to save five?
There is no right or wrong answer here and as I watched the movie, I wasn’t able to take sides. At some point it was important to see the greater good but the fact was that this innocent life was at an imminent danger.
Moral decisions are not as easy to solve and while one may take a side, addition of another variable changes the stance. What do you think about this dilemma?
Writing for #MicroblogMondays -198 and Monday Musings today.
happiness and food 
I think that most human beings would choose to save a loved one. Therefore the decision cannot be wrong. If I had to choose between the death of one stranger and five, I would choose the one. The question which is difficult to answer is this: Suppose it was a question of saving one’s own life vs that of five strangers?
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Then come the brave ones we hear about. Isn’t it? Thanks Nita for stopping by!
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This is a tough one with no right answer. Whatever values and principles we have are challenged more than ever during war.
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That is so true, Tulika!
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A toughie for sure Parul. I am not sure how I would react in this case though my choice would be easily made if it was between someone I loved vs someone I didn’t know. But choosing to kill one to save 5 would not be a easy decision for me.
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True.. see it is not easy with either philosophy. Thanks for stopping by Shalini!
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A huge moral dilemma for sure. The thing about values is that there is no one answer – it depends on what you value. Personally, I might choose to save 5 – because saving only a loved one seems selfish!
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It is but then when I think of a loved one vs 5 strangers, am I the one who has to think of greater good? You put it well, Corinne. There is no one answer.
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Oh quite a dilemma this one? Honestly, I wouldn’t know what to do. Nothing like war to make us not want to do what we should be doing or the other way round.
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True that!
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I have no idea what I would do, and hope that I am never in such a situation. If the one person was a loved one, I think I would keep the trolley on its path to the five people. If it was a stranger, I would switch the trolley. But who knows what I would do in real life? Thought provoking.
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That’s exactly what the Utilitarian view talks about. The greater good. Thanks for reading.
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Aaaaaaa, I so wanted to see that movie but it seemed so INTENSE and stressful. The trolley problem is scary to me… I feel like maybe I’d inadvertently kill everyone in trying to figure out a way to save everyone.
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I know what you mean. The movie was really good, Jess. You must watch it!
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So essentially this dilemma is really puzzling . Save a loved one over 5 strangers? I suppose all solutions have a subjective element – answers can only be found in a familiar knowledge base . This very broad generic problem doesn’t have a generic answer and the solution obviously is a very personally skewed one . So it really depends on who the six potential victims are.
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I get what you are saying. Google the word Trolley problem and you will see what I mean. 🙂
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Its such a complex decision in life PArul. But I think at such moments most of us tend to think of our loved ones first. But yes, I may reek in guilt later of being responsible in taking the lives of five others.
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I couldn’t agree more.
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Your post took me back to my post grad days where we actually had to write answers on utilitarianism, Panopticon, and all those similar theories. Is Eye on the Sky available on Amazon, or Youtube?
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I watched it on TV, Balaka but I’m sure it would be on Prime. Panopticon? I need to google that now.
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Very thought provoking and a tough one to answer. Frankly I really don’t know what I would do. I think it would depend on the circumstances, the people involved etc
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Right! There could be many variables.
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There are no rights and wrongs. It is all relative! Great post, Parul.
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Thank you Arvind!
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Wow! Quite a tough decision to make here, Parul. I, personally, would be in a fix, because putting anybody’s life at risk– be it a loved one, or a stranger– can play havoc on our psyche, our conscience. We aren’t made that way, are we? At least, most of us, who put emotions before logic.
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Totally! That’s what the Deontology talks about. The act but not the consequence.
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I guess this is the meaning of the word dilemma! So impossible to know – and so many variables. The thing that interested me is that not acting – ie choosing not to pull the lever to divert to the one person, and letting what was going to happen run its course – is as much a deadly decision as choosing to act. That, I think, is the bigger lesson for me.
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You are absolutely right. That’s so much similar to life where sometimes we let things happen but that’s not even right when we should have stepped up to do something else.
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That is what a dilemma is, no? There’s no right answer to this problem, as you said. There also isn’t one answer. So much depends on the circumstances and, in a war situation, on the stakes on the ground.
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Yes. In a war, it’s a different story all together.
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I’d have no clue what is right or wrong, because my first thought would be to save my loved one unconditionally! That’s how my instinct would work. Of course, I’d cringe with guilt later to know that I did nothing to save the five others. That’s life, isn’t it? Happening everyday in small and big ways in my life. Somedays I have no right answers, just doing the best I can! Thoughts to ponder over, for sure!
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You are right. Life throws similar situations to us and some day we do this and other day that. 🙂
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It seems like ages that I have come across a situation like this. My father used to regularly throw such situations at us and given my slow mind, I could never think of any answer. Infact morality is never easy. Neither, can I decide today. The new term I learned today is ‘Trolley situation’.
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