Friday Five for October 7th 2011

[infernusgoatus]

Today's questions are or are inspired by famous thought experiments:

The trolley problem and other thought experiments

1. What is your response to Philippa Foot's infamous trolley problem? (For those who don't know, the problem is thus: "A trolley (or train, if you prefer) is running out of control down a track. In its path are five people who have been tied to the track by a mad philosopher. Fortunately, you could flip a switch, which will lead the trolley down a different track to safety. Unfortunately, there is a single person tied to that track. Should you flip the switch or do nothing?") Why should/why shouldn't you flip the switch?


2. What if the only way to stop the trolley from killing five people would be to physically push someone into its path? Should you push that person or leave them be? Why/why not?


3. What if the person on the other track is a child? Should you flip the switch or do nothing? What if you had to physically push the child instead of flipping a switch? Why/why not?


4. A sailor builds a ship and names it Vessel of Theseus. He takes it on a long voyage and along the way, he is forced to repair it with new parts at every port. By the time he reaches home again, not a single piece of the original ship remains attached. Having lost all its original pieces, is it still the same ship? Why or why not?


5. What if the original pieces of the Vessel of Theseus were then gathered up and used to build another ship, christened Hobbes' Way? Which ship (if either) is the original Vessel? Why?

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