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I updated the trolley experiment now that the never ending flood of public shootings found a target...
(lemmy.world)
this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2024
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I'm not sure you're right that bullets can't be a lever, though. Firing the gun is pulling the lever, but nobody ever said it has to be a single lever pull that diverts the trolley.
The point of the trolley problem is ~~that doing nothing results in more deaths~~ to explore the limits of utilitarianism. It starts with the question of whether actively choosing to cause less destruction is worse than doing nothing to stop greater destruction, and you can add context to make it more complex from there.
In the trolley problem, the choice is to kill one to save many by pulling a lever. The lever of regulation has failed, so now the people are going to start pulling levers of their own, to try and reduce deaths. Just because it's not "the literal trolley problem but in real life" does not mean it's not the trolley problem.
You do have a point there. What I was predicting was that the targets would quickly become "anyone we don't like" and then the trolley comes for us all.
That is a valid concern! And it's the main reason I'm generally against vigilantism, since I've grown up. (Also, I edited my comment while you were replying - I didn't mean to rugpull you, I just realised I wasn't articulate enough in my point about the trolley problem applying).
But, murder is still murder and this guy is probably going to get caught and put on trial, and punished. I think most people who wouldn't risk it before this won't risk it now, and certainly not for petty grievances, but if someone's situation is dire enough...
Lol, weren't you just complaining about people misusing the trolley problem.....and now you're worried about the trolley becoming the star of Steven kings Christine?
The trolley problem isn't a law or anything. It's literally just a tool for kids to explore questionable ethical dilemmas, and it doesn't really apply to the real world. Which means it's perfectly suitable for shit posting memes.