Would you pull the level?
What would you do?
Making it more challenging...
Would you push the man?
What does the Bible say?
Genesis 1:27 — Humans are made in God’s image, so every person’s life is precious.
This means we can’t easily decide that one life is “less important” than another.
John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
God did push His son to save us.
The trolley problem is a thought experiment used to explore moral choices.
Here’s the basic version:
- Imagine a trolley (like a train) is speeding down a track.
- Ahead, five people are tied to the track and can’t move.
- You are standing next to a lever. If you pull it, the trolley will switch to another track — but there’s one person tied there.
The question is:
- Do you do nothing, and let the trolley kill the five people?
- Or pull the lever, saving the five but killing the one?
The trolley problem is used to discuss:
- Is it better to save the most people, even if it means harming someone? (Utilitarian view)
- Or is it wrong to take an action that directly causes someone’s death, even if it saves more lives? (Deontological view)
There are also variations, like
- the “fat man” version, where you could push a large man onto the tracks to stop the trolley, raising more questions about personal involvement and intention.
- What if you sacrificed yourself together with the fat man
- What if the people being saved were sick or old or strong or healthy
- What if the number of people being saved increased or decreased.
Practical applications:
- Atomic bomb at the end of the WW2
- Tesla self driving cars
- Doctors in a disaster zone
- Rescuing people from a burning building.
1. Understanding the problem
Can you explain the trolley problem in your own words?
What is the main choice the person in the story has to make?
2. Exploring choices
If you were the person at the switch, what would you do, and why?
Is it more important to save the most people or to avoid harming someone directly?
3. Considering fairness
Would your choice change if the one person on the track was your best friend?
What if the five people on the track had done something bad? Would that matter?
4. Thinking about responsibility
Is doing nothing the same as making a choice? Why or why not?
If you pull the lever, are you responsible for the person who dies?
5. Comparing values
Is it ever okay to harm one person to help more people?
Do you think rules should be followed no matter what, or should we make exceptions in extreme situations?
6. Connecting to real life
Can you think of a real-life situation where people have to make hard choices like this?
What do you think makes a choice “right” or “wrong” in situations like this?
