We’re going to do a thought experiment called The Loop Track Problem. Here’s how it works:
A runaway trolley is heading toward five people. You can pull a lever to divert it onto a side track. But here’s the twist — the side track loops back around to the main track. The only reason the trolley would stop is because there’s one person on the side track whose body would block it.
If that person wasn’t there, the trolley would loop back and still kill the five.
Do nothing: Five people die. Pull the lever: One person dies, and their body stops the trolley from killing the five.
Stand up if you would pull the lever.
This is tricky — you’re now using someone’s body to stop the trolley, not just diverting it away. Does that change your answer from the classic trolley problem?
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