Keeping track of your trolleys: origins and destinations

Lillehammer, Hallvard (2022) Keeping track of your trolleys: origins and destinations. In: Lillehammer, Hallvard (ed.) The Trolley Problem. Classic Philosophical Arguments. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781009255615. (In Press)

Abstract

This chapter presents a selective overview of the emergence of the trolley problem as a theoretical concern in moral philosophy. It does so by giving a snapshot of the problem as understood by three of the most influential contributors to discussions of that problem, namely Philippa Foot, Judith Jarvis Thomson and Frances Kamm. The chapter ends with a review of three criticisms that have been leveled at the trolley problem when considered as an instance of a certain way of thinking about moral philosophy. It does so by considering the arguments of one vocal critic of this way of thinking about moral philosophy, Barbara H. Fried. Book synopsis: The Trolley Problem is one of the most intensively discussed and controversial puzzles in contemporary moral philosophy. Over the last half-century, it has also become something of a cultural phenomenon, having been the subject of scientific experiments, online polls, television programs, computer games, and several popular books. This volume offers newly written chapters on a range of topics including the formulation of the Trolley Problem and its standard variations; the evaluation of different forms of moral theory; the neuroscience and social psychology of moral behavior; and the application of thought experiments to moral dilemmas in real life. The chapters are written by leading experts on moral theory, applied philosophy, neuroscience, and social psychology, and include several authors who have set the terms of the ongoing debates. The volume will be valuable for students and scholars working on any aspect of the Trolley Problem and its intellectual significance.

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