trolley problem

English

Etymology

Coined by American philosopher Judith Thomson. The problems usually involve deciding whom to save from an approaching trolley that can be diverted but not stopped.

Noun

trolley problem (plural trolley problems)

1. A type of thought experiment in ethics and psychology, involving ethical dilemmas of whether to sacrifice one person to save a larger number.
   • 2015 October 9, Lauren Cassani Davis, “Would You Pull the Trolley Switch? Does it Matter?”, in The Atlantic‎^[1]:

     By the late ‘90s, trolley problems had fallen out of fashion. Many philosophers questioned the value of the conclusions reached by analyzing a situation so bizarre and specific.

Related terms

• trolleyology

See also

• Heinz dilemma

Further reading

• trolley problem on Wikipedia.Wikipedia