Imagine the scene. A runaway tram is hurtling down a track towards five workers who cannot get out of the way. You are the driver. Your only option is to steer the tram onto a side track, but there’s a problem: there is another worker on that track. This is the scenario posed by British philosopher Philippa Foot in 1967. She used the problem to explore complex ethical duties. In her view, the driver faces a conflict between two negative duties: the duty not to kill the one worker, and the duty not to kill the five. In this tragic choice, she argued the correct action is to steer toward the single worker, because it is better to kill one person than five. You have a split second to decide. What do you do?
The Trolley Problem
The famous trolley problem explained, from its 1967 origins to why most people refuse to push a man to save five lives.
Chapter 1
The Driver's Dilemma
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who invented the trolley problem?
British philosopher Philippa Foot introduced the first version in a 1967 paper about the ethics of abortion. American philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson then expanded on it in 1985 with the famous 'Footbridge' variation.
Why do people answer the lever and footbridge scenarios differently?
Brain scans reveal a 'dual-process' morality. The impersonal act of pulling a lever activates rational brain areas, while the personal act of pushing someone triggers emotional centers, creating a strong gut feeling of revulsion.
Is the trolley problem used for programming self-driving cars?
While it inspired MIT's 'Moral Machine' project to gather public opinion, many engineers now see it as a distraction. Real-world car safety focuses more on risk probabilities and preventing accidents, rather than making a binary choice of who to hit.
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