trolley problem
English
Etymology
Coined by American philosopher Judith Thomson.
Noun
trolley problem (plural trolley problems)
- 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:
- 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
Further reading
trolley problem on Wikipedia.Wikipedia