The Trolley Problem, or Would You Throw the Fat Guy Off the Bridge?: A Philosophical Conundrum Hardcover – September 10, 2013

This is a wonderful book. We live in times when information comes at us fast, and like drinking from the torrent of a fire hydrant, we take in too little. Our thinking then becomes shallow and sloppy. The Trolley Problem by Tom Cathcart of 'Plato and Platypus Walk Into A Bar' fame is doing something different here.Slowly but inexorably the reader feels the pull of the book's gravity as it draws us into what might seem an arcane area of little contemporary interest. The Trolley Problem is a classic ethical dilemma. But Cathcart breathes contemporary life into it making a rich font for many daily dilemmas.The Trolley Problem ( when, in one version, a bystander diverts a racing trolley away from five people by choosing to pull a switch that instead diverts its path to a track that will kill only one innocent bystander) Cathcart first deconstructs the classic arguments from the world of philosophers (Hume, Bentham, Kant, Aquinas and others) using his trademarked humor and clarity.. But then something happens. He makes us think! He draws analogies to 9/11, medical rationing , Obamacare, Homeland Security. Not only do we see the Trolley Problem in a new light but also these very contemporary controversies take on a new dimension . Reason, logic ethics morality and gut feelings are are examined against what is happening in the headlines today.Increasingly morality is seen as a simple offshoot of human evolution. Using old neural pathways, brain anatomy, and the identical brain chemistry of ancient primates and mammals, human evolution puts them to new use. They allow us to live in a complex society and interact with each other in new ways.Cathcart with humor grace and an incisive mind, presents old problems in new ways allowing us to think carefully critically and thoughtfully. Your time will be well spent and your views on things will be forever changed when you have finished this wonderful journey he guides us throughThis is a wonderful book only Cathcart could write and you need not be a philosopher to apply. This book is for everyone who will allow themselves the luxury and joy of just slowing down and thinking, if just for awhile. A must read.Sent from my iPad

Those readers familiar with the Star Trek canon will have heard of the Kobayashi Maru, a tactical test given to Star Fleet command cadets. The test sets up a situation impossible to resolve. Either your starship, the Kobayashi Maru, or both are blown to smithereens by the Romulans. Only cadet James T. Kirk has ever resolved the dilemma, and he did it by cheating!The Trolley problem is philosophy’s (specifically Ethics) Kobayashi Maru. A trolley is speeding down a track. You control a switch. Do nothing, the trolley kills five workmen. Throw the switch and the trolley switches tracks killing a mother and child. It is intended to be a problem with no good solution. Many versions of it have been proposed (you stand on a bridge over the track near a very fat man whose fall onto the tracks will stop the trolley. Do you push him over?).Dr. Cathcart reviews the standard solutions (save the woman and child, save the greatest number of lives, and so on) pointing out that none are entirely satisfying. He does this with humor and an easy-going style. It is a little book that illustrates how many distinctions philosophers are wont to make. Having finished the book, you may not look at complex ethical issues the same way ever again.So how would James T. Kirk resolve the problem? He would cheat. He would have with him a megaphone which he uses to shout at the workmen and the mother and child to “get off the track!”A cute read.

Looking for an answer? It isn't here; instead, Cathcart rephrases the basic question in a variety of combinations which leave the ethics to the reader.About 500 years ago, Galileo and others figured out the Earth revolved around the Sun. This contradicted the Bible, and so people were burned at the stake for daring to hold beliefs that the Church said condemned them to eternity in Hell. Burning at the stake wasn't part of astronomical learning; it was to teach the spectators about the eternal fate awaiting those who rejected the wisdom of the church.The principle is similar to the trolley dilemma; do you sacrifice one to save many? Burn one heretic at the stake to save a multitude of spectators? The church, which cites the "wisdom" of St. Thomas Aquinas and the like, answered with a flaming 'Yes!"Unfortunately, the "trolley debate" doesn't answer such questions. If anything, it shows that absolute answers are absolutely wrong. What if the five were serial killers ready to kill again if not stopped, and the one was a scientist on the verge of a cure for cancer? What if the five were scientists on the verge of a cure for cancer, and the one was a serial killer?This is a book to generate thought, not to provide easy answers. For those who enjoy thinking, it's wonderful.Chatham asks if someone would sacrifice their own life to save five strangers on the trolley tracks; well, would you? He ignores soldiers who fall on a live grenade to save others but cites pilots who stay with a doomed aircraft to fly it away from residential areas. Well, what would you do?Obviously he cannot cite all possible examples. But, he raises enough issues to delight every thinking reader. Should anyone come up with an ethical answer, modern optimism says they won't be burned at the stake for discovering an original truth. Or would they be shunned or ignored? Well, would they?

Very thought-provoking topic and generally a good discussion, but the author brings up a few side topics and then comes to his forgone conclusion without considering both sides. This is an unnecessary distraction in an otherwise good book.

I gifted this to a friend who was new to philosophy, and he not only enjoyed it but also retained much of the core information. This shows that it's an excellent introduction to existential philosophy, even for those with no prior knowledge of the subject. Highly recommend it to everyone!