Editing Trolley problem (section)

== Related problems ==
[[File:The trolley problem.svg|thumbnail|upright=1.5|Five cases of the trolley problem: the original Switch, the Fat Man, the Fat Villain, the Loop, and the Man in the Yard]]

The basic Switch form of the trolley problem also supports comparison to other, related dilemmas:

=== The Fat Man ===
{{blockquote|As before, a trolley is hurtling down a track towards five people. You are on a bridge under which it will pass, and you can stop it by putting something very heavy in front of it. As it happens, there is a fat man next to you – your only way to stop the trolley is to push him over the bridge and onto the track, killing him to save five. Should you proceed?}}

Resistance to this course of action seems strong; when asked, a majority of people will approve of pulling the switch to save a net of four lives, but will disapprove of pushing the fat man to save a net of four lives.<ref>Peter Singer, ''Ethics and Intuitions'' The Journal of Ethics (2005). http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/200510--.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617002439/http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/200510--.pdf |date=2016-06-17 }}</ref> This has led to attempts to find a relevant moral distinction between the two cases.

One possible distinction could be that in the first case, one does not intend harm towards anyone – harming the one is just a [[Unintended consequence|side effect]] of switching the trolley away from the five. However, in the second case, harming the one is an integral part of the plan to save the five. This solution is essentially an application of the [[doctrine of double effect]], which says that one may take action that has bad side effects, but deliberately intending harm (even for good causes) is wrong. So, the action is permissible even if the harm to the innocent person is foreseen, so long as it is not intended. This is an argument which [[Shelly Kagan]] considers (and ultimately rejects) in his first book ''The Limits of Morality''.<ref>Shelly Kagan, ''The Limits of Morality'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989)</ref>

=== The Fat Villain ===
This variation is similar to ''The Fat Man'', with the additional assertion that the fat man who may be pushed is a villain who is responsible for the whole situation: the fat man was the one who tied five people to the track, and sent a trolley in their direction with the intention of killing them. In this variation, a majority of people are willing to push the fat man.<ref>Westacott, Emrys. "Would You Kill One Person to Save Five?" ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/would-you-kill-one-person-to-save-five-4045377. </ref>

Unlike in the previous scenario, pushing the fat villain to stop the trolley may be seen as a form of [[retributive justice]] or [[self-defense]].