darkknight109 posted...
I personally don't find the trolley problem in its most basic form to be a particularly difficult one, because it's a relatively simple equation: act and one person dies, don't act and five people die. From a cold, dispassionate perspective, the former is eminently preferable to the latter, as it causes the least amount of suffering.
The problem is that your point of view is essentially the Utilitarian perspective, but there are plenty of people who don't necessarily accept the Utilitarian perspective of the world.
So even if the answer is subjectively simple and obvious to you, it isn't objectively or universally correct for everyone.
Gaawa_chan posted...
Inaction doesn't make you not culpable.
Many people would disagree, especially if you can act to save someone with minimal risk to yourself and still choose not to.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_to_rescue