Which of these might be a reason not to turn the trolley?
A) The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one.
B) Turning the trolley is making an active choice to kill the one person, which might be considered worse than merely passively allowing the deaths of the five people.
C) The driver of the trolley has a special duty to protect passengers as well as workers on the trolley lines.
D) Saving five lives is the better choice, even at the cost of one person's death.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

B) Turning the trolley involves making an active decision to cause harm (killing one person), which can be ethically distinguished from passively allowing harm to occur (letting the five die without intervening). This perspective is rooted in the ethical principle that doing harm is worse than allowing harm.

Which of These Might Be a Reason Not to Turn