The Trolley Problem
The setup is well known. A runaway trolley is heading toward five people on the track. You can pull a lever to divert it onto a side track, but there is one person there. Five die or one dies. Do you pull the lever? Most people say yes. The math is uncomfortable, but clear. Now the second version. Same trolley. Same five people. But this time you are on a footbridge above the track, and next to you is a large stranger. If you push him off the bridge, his body will stop the trolley. Five saved, one dead. The arithmetic is identical. ...