WeeChris

By WeeChris

Which Trolley Problem?

Here are some shopping trolleys I snapped through the window of Tesco's Supermarket this evening.

Trolleys present problems of manoeuvrability to myself and many other shoppers; one version of the Trolley Problem.

Another, very personal version, recalls my mother who had a tea trolley which she used to transport dishes, plates, cutlery, etc. from our kitchen to the dining room; it probably sounds like a sensible and practical idea; BUT, there was a step between the kitchen and the rest of the house - several times a day throughout my childhood the trolley was lifted up and down that step. I'm sure an alternative solution (such as a tray), would have been better.

However, if you are interested in exercises in the field of ethics and morality or in cognitive neuropsychology you might know there is a famous "Thought Experiment" sometimes posed called THE Trolley Problem: A runaway railway engine or tram on some tracks is hurtling towards five people who are tied up and cannot escape, but you can save them if you pull a lever to divert the Trolley into a siding. Unfortunately, in the siding directly in the line of the vehicle is another man, tied up, who also cannot escape. If you save the five he will die. What do you do?

Thorny?

Enjoy the picture. Think the experiment.

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