Last week we looked at the classic philosophic conundrum of the trolley. Nearly 70% of respondents said that they would flip a switch in order to divert a trolley that would then kill one person, but miss 5 others at which it was previously heading. This response percentage tends to line up with surveys that… Continue reading Moral Monday: Trolley Problem and the Fat Man
Category: Moral Monday
Moral Monday: The Trolley Problem
A trolley is running out of control down a track. In its path are five people who have been tied to the track by a mad philosopher. Fortunately, you could flip a switch, which will lead the trolley down a different track to safety. Unfortunately, there is a single person tied to that track. Should… Continue reading Moral Monday: The Trolley Problem
Moral Monday: Going to Camp
I’m back from my hiatus teaching at Mississippi Governor’s School for three weeks. I had even less time to work on this blog than I thought I would, but the process of being there was amazing and life-changing, and is something I plan to write more about soon. This particular dilemma seemed appropriate in light… Continue reading Moral Monday: Going to Camp
Moral Mondays: The Spam
You are the network administrator for a rather large company. You have a young family and need your job to support them. As part of your responsibility as a network administrator is to monitor the emails for the organization. Usually this just means occasionally allow through emails for staff members that have been accidentally blocked… Continue reading Moral Mondays: The Spam
Moral Monday: Sophie’s Choice
Today’s dilemma is one of the classics from history. This dilemma allegedly occurred during WWII. You are an inmate, imprisoned in a concentration camp. A guard tells you that you must choose one of your two children – a younger daughter or an older son – for him to take to the gas chamber. If… Continue reading Moral Monday: Sophie’s Choice
Moral Monday: Making Rugs
Today’s Moral Dilemma: You are a child slave in Africa, laboring away 18 hours a day making rugs. One night, you have a dream: God comes down from heaven and tells you that no one, not one person in the world, is buying your rugs. Would you feel: Tell us why in the comments!
Moral Monday: Communicating Peas
You’ve probably heard of the moral arguments against eating meat, but here’s a new one: When it comes to a plant, it turns out to be not only a what but also a who — an agent in its milieu, with its own intrinsic value or version of the good. Inquiring into justifications for consuming… Continue reading Moral Monday: Communicating Peas
Introducing Moral Monday: The Sadistic Guard
NPR recently published an interesting article on the psychology of fraud. The article essentially argues that when we’re thinking about a decision from one point of view, such as business, we can forget to consider other points of views, like ethics: Essentially, Tenbrunsel argues, certain cognitive frames make us blind to the fact that we… Continue reading Introducing Moral Monday: The Sadistic Guard