PHIL 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Philippa Foot, Trolley Problem
Document Summary
Philippa foot- trolley problem, nephew in tub killing vs letting die peter singer- drowning child toby ord- giving what we can. She asked the question why you should be moral at all? why should i even do this any way? in her struggle of this question, she thinks about utilitarianism and wonders if its any good. 1967- she comes up with the trolley problem, its supposed to help us understand that utilitarianism can not help us solve ethical problems, Then she asks: does it matter if you push the lever or just pushing the fat man off the bridge to stop the trolley. Pushing the lever is indirect while pushing the fat man is direct. Pulling the lever is heroic because you saved 5 people. What phillips foot thinks if utilitarianism was really the right way, it shouldn"t matter, you should pull the lever or push the fat guy- might feel guilty but is your guilt equal to.
