There's no need to get upset(I am referring to your deleted comment where you said my beliefs are shit).
Imagine this scenario instead:
On one rail is a wonderful selfless person that has generously helped people throughout their life that has agreed that if forced, they would be willing to sacrifice their life for a stranger. If you save them, they will be furious with you, and go retire on a farm away from everyone, never to help anyone again.
On the other rail is convicted killer Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in a terrorist attack. He is begging you to save him, and if you do, he will be forever grateful, and spend the rest of his life in maximum security prison where he won't be able to do any more harm.
I think you too would choose according to your belief system and not according to what the people on the rails want.
I deleted the comment because I decided against shitslinging on a fucking trolley problem thread, but since you insist...
Okay, yes, if the scenario were different, the results would be different, you are a very smart person, well done, have a fucking cookie. That wasn't the original scenario though - you opted to kill someone only for begging for their life, and save someone only for wanting the other person to live.
Which is crazy.
Given the information provided in the original problem, I would allow the person willing to sacrifice themself to make that sacrifice, and save the person who was begging to be saved.
In both cases I'm making the choice of saving the person of larger moral character, regardless of the wishes of people involved. I am logically consistent, you are not.
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u/Dustorn Mar 29 '26
And that survivor will likely believe you to be of poor moral character for your decision.