The Dilemma of the Trolley

The Trolley Dilemma is a moral thought experiment asking whether it's acceptable to intervene when a runaway trolley is headed toward five people on the tracks. You have the choice to pull a lever, diverting the trolley onto another track where only one person is present. The dilemma explores the conflict between actively causing harm to save others versus not acting, which results in multiple deaths. It challenges us to consider the ethics of consequentialism (saving the majority) versus deontological principles (not intentionally causing harm). The scenario prompts reflection on how we make difficult moral decisions under competing values.