The Pros And Cons Of Choosing The Train Road

The famous trolley problem describes a scenario where the train track has lost its breaks and is speeding up toward a junction. There are two pathways the train operator can take, either continue the current course, where five people are working on the rails, or switch to the alternative route, where only one person is situated. Taking either direction would result in casualties. The philosophers add an extra twist to the scenario by offering an alternative option: imagining that there is a bridge right above the train tracks, and right on that bridge is a gargantuan man. If one would throw this man down before the train, his bodily weight could stop the speeding train. The question is, what would be morally justifiable to do in such unfortunate

Kant's formulations of the categorical imperatives require a reader to question whether some action being contemplated could become a universal law of nature. His philosophy focuses on motives, fairness, consistency and being able to treat persons as autonomous and morally equal beings (MacKinnon & Fiala, 2015, p. 118). Moreover, Kant emphasizes that "we ought to treat ourselves as well as others, namely as ends rather than merely as means" (MacKinnon & Fiala, 2015, p. 117). Throwing a person down the bridge would be against Kant's call to recognize the intrinsic value of an individual and avoid using people for their instrumental value (in this case, the extra weight of the man would be used a mere mean to stop the train). Kant is concerned with the justifiable and rational motive of the person making a decision; he recognizes that adverse outcomes might happen despite the best intentions. Therefore, if the train operator diverts to the track with a single workman, then he fulfilled his duty to save as many as people as possible, even if his acts resulted in an inadvertent