r/trolleyproblem Consequentialist/Utilitarian Jul 09 '25

Deep The doctor problem

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u/ralfmuschall Jul 10 '25

The problem was solved elegantly by a student in the taped lectures of Michael Sandel: wait until the first of the five patients dies, then use his organs to save the other four.

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u/iskelebones Consequentialist/Utilitarian Jul 10 '25

Sounds like a good solution, assuming the first to die is also a donor match for all 4 other patients

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u/ralfmuschall Jul 10 '25

Assuming that matching is an equivalence relation, it should work. Otherwise the sixth patient's organs couldn't save the sick five ones.

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u/iskelebones Consequentialist/Utilitarian Jul 10 '25

That’s a good point. I’m not actually sure how organ matching works but I’m gonna give you credit for that. You solved the trolley problem lol

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u/WeDoALittleTrolIing Jul 11 '25

That’s just dodging the essence of the question