What would you do?

[The Unforgettable Fire]

You are a train switch operator. There is a runaway train and if you do nothing it will go off into a deep chasm killing the 20 people who are on board. If you flip the switch it will move the train to a different track and save all 20 people on board. However your best friend in the whole world is working on that track and if you flip the switch your friend will be killed by the train.

What would you do?

 

[Faulty]

Coffee break?

 

[Tamara224]

Is my best friend in the world deaf? If not, then I'll take the train his way and trust that he's smart enough to get out of the way when he hears the train coming.

 

[BenAdam]

and that has happened how many times?

 

[lismore]

I think the answer is in this song:

‪Luke Kelly Paddy On The Railway (performer Version)‬‏ - YouTube

 

[Yitzchak]

..

 

[Notsocommonsense]

You are a train switch operator. There is a runaway train and if you do nothing it will go off into a deep chasm killing the 20 people who are on board. If you flip the switch it will move the train to a different track and save all 20 people on board. However your best friend in the whole world is working on that track and if you flip the switch your friend will be killed by the train.

What would you do?

If he is working on the track, while would he be definitely killed? Does he not have the ability to see or hear? If so, why is a blind deaf person working on the railroad track and not with the IRS?

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

Is my best friend in the world deaf? If not, then I'll take the train his way and trust that he's smart enough to get out of the way when he hears the train coming.

That's funny. That happened with a crew I hauled one time. They were on a work train and some other work crews (not railroaders) were on the track sooner than they were supposed to be. When the train came around the bend (it was moving slow), workers scattered everywhere getting off their equipment. Fortunately, the train was moving slow enough to stop so that it did not hit any of the work equipment.

 

[pdudgeon]

You are a train switch operator. There is a runaway train and if you do nothing it will go off into a deep chasm killing the 20 people who are on board. If you flip the switch it will move the train to a different track and save all 20 people on board. However your best friend in the whole world is working on that track and if you flip the switch your friend will be killed by the train.

What would you do?

easy! my best friend in the the whole world is Jesus, and He has eternal life. so i'd switch the train, He would stop it and no one would be harmed, much less killed.

 

[BlackSabb]

You are a train switch operator. There is a runaway train and if you do nothing it will go off into a deep chasm killing the 20 people who are on board. If you flip the switch it will move the train to a different track and save all 20 people on board. However your best friend in the whole world is working on that track and if you flip the switch your friend will be killed by the train.

What would you do?

This is an old rehash of a well fabled ethical/moral dilemma. I remember this at school, along with other scenarios. However, this rehash is not correct. The correct one goes something like this:

You are a train switch operator. There is a runaway train on a rail line coming up to a stationary train with a large amount of people on board. You can divert the runaway train to another track coming up to another stationary train with only a few people on board.

However........

If you do nothing and let the runaway train crash with the stationary train with a large amount of people on board, you will not be held liable. If on the other hand, you switch tracks and let the runaway train crash with the stationary train with only a few people on board, you will be held liable as you actively switched the course of the runaway train.

What do you do?

That is a much harder ethical/moral dilemma I think than in the OP.

 

[zaksmummy]

Ethical dilemmas like this are why Prime Ministers/ Presidents etc go grey very quickly when they come into office.

 

[sunlover1]

You are a train switch operator. There is a runaway train and if you do nothing it will go off into a deep chasm killing the 20 people who are on board. If you flip the switch it will move the train to a different track and save all 20 people on board. However your best friend in the whole world is working on that track and if you flip the switch your friend will be killed by the train.

What would you do?

Because God always hears me when I pray according to His will, I would flip the switch and pray for GOD's Will to be done!
A rest in that.