Trolley Problem: On the Moral Track - Moral and Ethical Philosophy Series |
Academy 4 Social Change
Trolley Problem: Lesson Plan
Topic
The “trolley problem” is a famous thought experiment used to debate the value of
a human life and discuss what is the most ethical way to act if one person
suddenly has the power to decide the life or death of many others. The classic
trolley problem involves deciding between doing nothing and letting a train kill
five people or flipping a switch and redirecting the train to a different track and
killing one person. However, many variants of this classic problem have since
been proposed and debated.
Possible subjects/classes Time needed
Philosophy, Psychology, Politics,
30-45 minutes
Government, Civics
Video link:
https://academy4sc.org/topic/trolley-problem-on-the-moral-track/
Objective: What will students know/be able to do at the end of class?
Students will be able to...
● Summarize the trolley problem in their own words.
● Identify variants of the trolley problem that appear in real life or in pop
culture.
● Differentiate deontological ethics from utilitarianism.
Key Concepts & Vocabulary
Utilitarian, Deontological ethics
Materials Needed
Worksheet, Student Internet Access
Before you watch
Trolley Problem: On the Moral Track - Moral and Ethical Philosophy Series |
Academy 4 Social Change
Poll the class: The teacher should set an imaginary scenario that’s similar to the
trolley problem, and ask the students what they would do in that situation. For
example:
Imagine you’re a firefighter in a burning house that’s about to collapse. In
one room, there are five innocent people about to die from breathing in
too much smoke. In another room, there’s one person who’s also about to
die from too much smoke. You only have enough time to reach one of the
rooms, but you can save all the people in that room. Which room do you
choose? Why?
Imagine the same fire scenario as above. In one room, there are five
strangers who are about to die. In another room, there is your best friend,
who is also about to die. You still only have enough time to reach one of
the rooms, but you can save all the people in that room. Which room do
you choose? Is your answer different from before? Why?
While you watch
Complete the Worksheet matching activity.
After you watch/discussion questions
1. What do you think is the value of a human life? Can you estimate this value
using some kind of unit? Money? Gold? Furthermore, are all human lives
worth the same amount? Explain your thinking.
2. One popular variant to the trolley problem is that instead of flipping a
switch and diverting the train, you must push one man directly onto the
tracks. Does your answer to the trolley problem change? Why? What’s the
main difference between this variant and the original problem?
3. Why is it important to think through such thought experiments? What do
we learn from doing so?
Activity Ideas
● Either individually or in small groups, complete Leaders 4SC’s Program
Your Car Task Force.
● Take the Philosophy Experiments' Should You Kill the Fat Man quiz. Try not
to think too deeply about your responses and go with your first instinct. It
should take about five to ten minutes to complete. Examine your results
Trolley Problem: On the Moral Track - Moral and Ethical Philosophy Series |
Academy 4 Social Change
and write a short reflection paragraph about what you discovered.
● Break up into small groups and brainstorm some of the limitations of the
trolley problem. What do you think are common criticisms and why? Keep a
running list of these critiques and then debrief as a group.
● When presented with the original trolley problem, most people typically
choose to sacrifice the one person and save the five. In 2017, a television
program redid the experiment and convinced subjects that a train would
hit five people unless they pulled a lever and diverted it to hit one person.
Write down your hypothesis on how you think these subjects behaved.
What percentage do you think would pull the level? Do nothing? Explain
your reasoning.
Sources/places to learn more
1. Di Nucci, Ezio. “Self-Sacrifice and the Trolley Problem.” Philosophical
Psychology, vol. 26, no. 5, 2013, pp. 662–672. hollis.harvard.edu,
doi:10.1080/09515089.2012.674664.
2. Edmonds, David. Would You Kill the Fat Man?: The Trolley Problem and What
Your Answer Tells Us about Right and Wrong. Princeton University Press,
2013.
3. Nyholm, Sven, and Jilles Smids. “The Ethics of Accident-Algorithms for
Self-Driving Cars: An Applied Trolley Problem?” Ethical Theory and Moral
Practice, vol. 19, no. 5, 2016, pp. 1275–1289. hollis.harvard.edu,
doi:10.1007/s10677-016-9745-2.
4. Stevens, Michael. "The Greater Good". Mind Field, season 2, episode 1,
December 2017.
5. Thomson, Judith Jarvis. “Killing, Letting Die, and the Trolley Problem.” The
Monist, 1 July 1976, doi:10.5840/monist197659224.
