The Trolley Problem, or Would You Throw the Fat Guy Off the Bridge?: A Philosophical Conundrum
- ISBN-10
- 0761178708
- ISBN-13
- 9780761178705
- Category
- Philosophy
- Pages
- 144
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2013-09-10
- Publisher
- Workman Publishing
- Author
- Thomas Cathcart
Description
A New York Times–bestselling author explores a classic ethical challenge: “This riveting little book is grounded, relevant, and fun” (Gregory Stock, author of The Book of Questions). A trolley is careening out of control. Up ahead are five workers, and on a spur to the right stands a lone individual. You, a bystander, happen to be standing next to a switch that could divert the trolley, which would save the five, but sacrifice the one—do you pull it? Or say you’re watching from an overpass. The only way to save the workers is to drop a heavy object in the trolley’s path. And you’re standing next to a really fat man . . . This ethical conundrum—based on British philosopher Philippa Foot’s 1967 thought experiment—has inspired decades of lively arguments around the world. Now Thomas Cathcart, coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar, brings his sharp intelligence, quirky humor, and gift for popularizing serious ideas to “the trolley problem.” Framing the issue as a possible crime that is to be tried in the court of public opinion, Cathcart explores philosophy and ethics, intuition and logic. Along the way he makes connections to the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham, Kant’s limits of reason, St. Thomas Aquinas’s fascinating Principle of Double Effect, and more. This provocative book explores our most deeply held notions of right and wrong, and asks us to contemplate for ourselves: Would you divert the trolley? Kill one to save five? Would you throw the fat man off the bridge? “Cathcart’s charming approach in The Trolley Problem is to dramatize the dilemma by presenting . . . a trial in the court of public opinion, complete with arguments from lawyers on both sides as well as a psychologist, a professor, a bishop, listeners to a radio call-in show and so forth.” —The Wall Street Journal
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2013-09-10
- 144 pages
- Paperback
- Workman Publishing
Similar books
-
Ecofeminist Philosophy: A Western Perspective on what it is and why it Matters
By Karen WarrenWijkman and Timberlake , Natural Disasters , 27 . 32. Wijkman and Timberlake , Natural Disasters , 49 . 33. Seager , New State of the Earth Atlas , 121 .
-
Each Day a Renewed Beginning: Meditations for a Peaceful Journey
By Karen Casey7. Sometimes the things that frighten you the most can be the biggest sources of strength. —Iris Timberlake or Most of us learn as we mature that strength.
-
Emerging Trends in Continental Philosophy
By Todd May28 It is therefore not difficult to reconcile Badiou«s references to historical ... On the one hand, Badiou«s major essays on Rancière all deal with the ...
-
Pierre Bayle's Cartesian Metaphysics: Rediscovering Early Modern Philosophy
By Todd RyanBayle offers a similar assessment in a letter to Minutoli: There has just been ... touchant la tran[s]substantiation, et leur conformité avec le calvinisme.
-
Negotiating a Settlement in Northern Ireland, 1969-2019
By John Coakley, Jennifer ToddHowever, acceptance of the deal was driven in part by threats of worse to come should agreement ... see Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006, s.
-
The Philosopher's Way
By Pearson Education, Pearson Education Staff, Inc.Several versions of Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products exist for each title, including customized versions for individual schools, and registrations are not transferable.
-
Swimmer in a Dark Sea
By Pierce TimberlakeTake a tour through the mind of America's undiscovered philosopher: Pierce Timberlake. Swimmer in a Dark Sea is a dizzying ride through a dazzling array of profound concepts.
-
Bringing Peace Home: Feminism, Violence, and Nature
By Karen Warren, Duane L. Cady"This collection of works is ambitious, well documented, thoroughly—though not turgidly—referenced, and comprehensively indexed.
-
Ecological Feminism
By Karen Warren, Barbara Wells-HoweThe essays in this volume deal with a wide variety of subjects - the essential distinction between the "ecofeminist" and the "ecofeminine," the link between violence and environmental exploitation, feminism's relationship to animal rights ...
-
Catharine Macaulay's Republican Enlightenment
By Karen Green6 Davies, Catharine Macaulay and Mercy Otis Warren, 228; Franklin Bowditch Dexter (ed.), The Literary Diary of Ezra Stiles (New York: C. Scribner's Sons, ...