Trolley Problem Assignment

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Feb 20, 2024

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Laura Braun The Trolley Problem Assignment Purpose: The purpose of this two-part assignment is to try your hand at a classic ethical dilemma and then uncover the principles that drove your decision. Instructions: For both parts, include your responses on a Word document and label them “PART ONE” and “PART TWO.” PART ONE Answer “Yes” or “No” to the following two questions: Trolley Problem #1 A runaway trolley will kill five people on the track ahead if it continues its course. The only

way to save the five people is for you to pull a switch that will turn the trolley onto a sidetrack where it will kill only one person. Do you pull the switch? Yes ___? No ___? Yes, I would pull the switch because in nursing we are taught the more lives you can save the better. I know that it would definitely leave you in an ethical dilemma, but the idea is to save a s many people as possible. I would also ensure there is other options before pulling the switch. I would make sure there was no emergency brake then I would have to pull the switch. I know that I would have terrible feelings about it afterward but the idea in a hospital or critical care setting when tragedy strikes is using Triage and understanding the survival rate for each person. Trolley Problem #2 A runaway trolley will kill five people on the track ahead if it continues on its course. You are standing near the tracks next to a very large stranger. If you push the stranger onto the tracks, his massive dead body will block the train from hitting the five people, saving them all. Do you push him onto the tracks? Yes ___? No ___? Honestly, even though this would save all 5 lives I don’t think I could do this. I would have to say no because this is an innocent bystander. I know that earlier I stated you have to outweigh

with numbers but in this scenario the guy is not even involved. PART TWO Kidder identifies three main kinds of principles that underlie ethical decision-making: Ends- based, rule-based, and care-based. Your job is to identify which type drove each of your two answers. Perhaps the same principle drove both decisions, perhaps different ones did. Explain your selections. Part Two:

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Kidder draws out three main principles within the field of moral philosophy. The first one he describes is Ends base: do whatever is for the greater good and produces a greater number, what we know as “utilitarianism”, or doing by the maximum (Kidder & Born, 1998). This was most definitely involved with question one in this assignment. I had to make the decision based on the maximum number outcomes in the scenario. If I pulled the switch, I could save five lives or if I don’t that someone dies regardless. Either way you lose but choose the way you lose less. The second principle he addressed is called Rules based. Kidder states “Rules Based: This principle is best known as the “categorical imperative” (Kidder & Born, 1998). The rules exist for a purpose to promote justice and order that it should be followed or executed. The rule suggests that you should follow the rule that you would want others to follow or do as you want done onto you. Sticking to your guns and allowing the scenario to play out. I feel I utilized this principle in the second question because I would not push an innocent bystander to save five lives. He was not involved and shouldn’t be involved and it’s not in my morals to shove an innocent man and murdering him to save the five lives that are already at stake. Also, we don’t know for sure that his life would have saved all five. Then you are murdering someone in cold blood for nothing then you have six lives on your hands. The last principal Kidder addressed within the fields of morals was, Care Based. Care Based is putting the love and kindness for others first (Kidder & Born, 1998). It is the golden rule when it comes to making decisions that face ethical and moral dilemmas. This also would apply to each scenario as you would have to put yourself in their shoes. What would you want that bystander to do if he were in your in your shoes. These are tough questions and have major drawbacks either direction, but it definitely allowed me to think to myself that I would do in this situation and why.

Reference: Kidder, R. M., & Born, P. L. (1998, December 1). Resolving ethical dilemmas in the classroom . ASCD. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/resolving-ethical-dilemmas-in-the-classroom

Trolley Problem Assignment

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