What is the Right Thing To Do?

How do we decide how to behave? When faced with matters of life and death, what is the right thing to do? It is not always obvious. We can see this by looking at a problem often used in teaching philosophy.

The Trolley Problem

An out of control trolley is hurtling down a railway track and heading for five people tied to the track.
- It will kill them all. But you are next to a lever that can divert the trolley.
- The problem is that there is one person on the diverted track and you can’t warn them.
What should you do? Let events take their course, resulting in five deaths. Or, deliberately choose to kill one person instead?

R v Dudley and Stevens

We can also look at an actual case from the 19th Century.
- Adrift in a lifeboat, and at risk of dying of thirst, a group of sailors decided to kill one of their group. So they could drink his blood and survive.
- Was this the right thing to do, to kill one person?

R v Dudley and Stevens (cont.)

This became a famous legal case. Because the remaining men did survive and two of them were tried and found guilty of murder.
- Later, though, they were released after a short prison sentence. Because others decided that a verdict of murder was unjust in the circumstances.

Morality in The Trolley Problem

These two scenarios point out just how hard it can be to decide what is right and just.
In the first example of the trolley, is the person near the lever to blame for whatever happens?
- Perhaps it was best for that person to keep out of it.
- Is it simply a matter of numbers?
- Is there a difference between letting people die and deliberately killing someone?

Morality in Dudley and Stevens

In the case against Dudley and Stevens we see both murder and cannibalism.
- Most societies would say these are morally wrong.
- But could they have been the right thing to do in the circumstances?
In this second case, the law saw some justification in what they did.
- Does the law have to think about the best outcome?
- In applying the law, do we not have to ask what would we have done?

1Year 7

1.1Origins of Abrahamic Faith

1.2Judaism

1.3Christianity

1.3.1The Nativity

1.3.2Christian Beliefs about the Baby Jesus

1.3.3Jesus' Ministry

1.3.4The Sermon on the Mount

1.3.5The Crucifixion

1.3.6The Last Supper

1.3.7The Resurrection

1.3.8Christian Beliefs about the Resurrection

1.3.9The Council of Nicaea

1.3.10The Nicene Creed

1.3.11Saint Augustine

1.3.12Protestantism

1.3.13The Reformation

1.3.14Christianity Today

1.3.15Evangelical Churches

1.3.16The Future of Christianity

1.4Buddhism

1.4.1Religion in India

1.4.2The Caste System

1.4.3Meditation

1.4.4Caste & Religion

1.4.5Puja

1.4.6Karma & the Cycle of Rebirth

1.4.7The Four Noble Truths

1.4.8The Three Marks of Existence

1.4.9The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path to Enlightenment

1.4.10How do Buddhists Live?

1.4.11The Four Sights

1.4.12The Buddha

1.4.13The Middle Way & Enlightenment

2Year 8

2.1Islam

2.1.1Pre-Islamic Arabia

2.1.2The Prophet Muhammad & The Qur'an

2.1.3The Hijrah & The Conquest of Mecca

2.1.4The Prophet Muhammad: The Final Sermon

2.1.5The Sunni/Shia Split

2.1.6Islamic Caliphates

2.1.7The Five Pillars of Islam

2.1.8Origins of Hajj

2.1.9Hajj Rituals

2.1.10Jihad

2.1.11Islam Today

2.2Hinduism

2.2.1The Prehistoric Roots of Hinduism

2.2.2Key Ideas in Hinduism

2.2.3The Caste System

2.2.4The Vedic Period

2.2.5The Upanishads

2.2.6Alexander the Great & The Mauryan Empire

2.2.7Revelation & The Sharing of Knowledge

2.2.8Understanding the Self

2.2.9Karma, Yoga & the Self

2.2.10The Divine Presence

2.2.11Hindu Statues and Icons

2.2.12British Colonialism & Gandhi

2.3Atheism

2.3.1Where Did Atheism Come From?

2.3.2The Impact of Scientific Developments

2.3.3Plato's Cave

2.3.4Challenging the Bible

2.3.5The Enlightenment

2.3.6Evolution

2.3.7Evolution & Religion

2.3.8Morality & God

2.3.9Morality Without God

2.3.10Frederick Nietzsche - How to Live Without Religion

2.3.11Militant Atheism

2.3.12Humanism

2.3.13The Future of Atheism

2.4Philosophy of Religion

2.4.1Who is God?

2.4.2Theists, Atheists & Agnostics

2.4.3Faith & Empiricism

2.4.4The Design Argument

2.4.5Is The Design Argument Convincing?

2.4.6The Cosmological Argument

2.4.7Criticisms of The Cosmological Argument

2.4.8The Problem of Evil

2.4.9Free Will Theodicy

2.4.10Soul-Making Theodicy

2.4.11Religious Experience