The Trolley Problem
I've recently completed an enlightening journey through Harvard's online course "Justice," led by renowned philosopher Michael Sandel. This free course mimics an authentic classroom experience through captivating lectures and insightful readings, providing a robust exploration of moral and political philosophy. In addition, Sandel's charisma and humor enthrall students, challenging us to ponder profound moral conundrums. Inspired by this intellectual adventure, I acquired Sandel's acclaimed book, "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?" from the iconic Notting Hill Bookshop during a family vacation in London.
The course's inaugural lecture introduces the "trolley problem," a classic thought experiment highlighting ethical dilemmas. The scenario presents a runaway trolley speeding toward five unaware workers. However, there's a sidetrack with one oblivious worker, and the conductor can switch the trolley's course. Faced with two options - doing nothing and causing five fatalities or diverting the trolley to kill one person - the students grapple with deciding the more ethical choice.
In an intriguing twist, Sandel modifies the scenario: you're an onlooker who could stop the trolley by pushing a large man off a bridge, killing him but saving six lives. Students unanimously felt uncomfortable with this blatant murder, leading to an engrossing debate.
This ethical dilemma contrasts two moral frameworks: utilitarianism, which values actions' consequences, and deontological ethics, which emphasizes duty and rights. While this problem might seem theoretical, its real-world implications manifest in several contexts.
Consider drone strikes, which under President Obama's tenure saw extensive usage. Targeting foreign operatives, these strikes inevitably cause collateral damage, including innocent bystanders' deaths. The utilitarian perspective rationalizes these casualties, emphasizing the greater good of preventing catastrophic events like 9/11.
Another example is the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which aim to address global issues like poverty, hunger, and disease. One goal was to reduce malaria deaths, which in 2018 resulted in 405,000 fatalities, primarily among children under five. But, again, limited resources necessitated prioritization, leading to difficult decisions like the trolley problem's conductor's dilemma.
The COVID-19 pandemic offers a peculiar manifestation of the trolley problem, particularly in the context of reopening schools in the U.S. President Trump's administration, focusing on re-election, threatens to withhold federal funding if schools don't reopen. Despite the virus's indiscriminate nature, endangering students, teachers, and administrators, the push for reopening prioritizes political goals over public health. This scenario mirrors the disturbing choice of pushing the theoretical man off the bridge to achieve the desired outcome.
Sandel's course illuminates how moral and political philosophies permeate our everyday decisions, transforming abstract concepts into tangible realities. Whether as drone operators, policymakers, or citizens during a global pandemic, we constantly grapple with ethical dilemmas akin to the trolley problem.