I just found out that Phillipa Foot passed away on October 3rd. We've lost a great philosopher, one of the few who can say that they've created a whole new sub-discipline in philosophy, completely unintentionally. Trolleyology. Yes, Phillipa Foot came up with the Trolley Problem, and Judith Jarvis Thompson added to it the fat man.
I would turn the Trolley to kill 5 random people, if it meant saving Phillipa Foot.
So in her honor, I open up her infamous question to everyone.... What would you do, if faced with the decision of killing 5 random strangers on a runaway trolley, or turning the trolley to kill 1 random stranger. What about a doctor who has 5 dying patient and 1 healthy patient whom he can kill to make the other 5 live? And what exactly is the moral difference between the two?
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
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You know that Mary Anne Warren just died too, right?
ReplyDeleteshut up! Sad sad Sad.....
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