What is the Trolley Problem? (Wikipedia)
Channel: LearnExploreTHINK
Date: 2014-05-12

The trolley problem is a thought experiment in ethics, first introduced by Philippa Foot in 1967, but also extensively analysed by Judith Jarvis Thomson, Peter Unger, and Frances Kamm as recently as 1996. Outside of the domain of traditional philosophical discussion, the trolley problem has been a significant feature in the fields of cognitive science and, more recently, of neuroethics. It has also been a topic on various TV shows dealing with human psychology.

One way to state the issue is to imagine the following scenario: Person A can take an action which would benefit many people, but in doing so, person B would be unfairly harmed. Under what circumstances would it be more morally just than injust for Person A to violate Person B's rights in order to benefit the group?
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